Huawei clinches top spot in Sri Lanka’s smartphone market
Market share up to 41% in first half, from 36.5% by end of last year
Becomes most preferred smartphone brand among Lankan consumers
China’s Huawei has clinched the top spot in Sri Lanka’s smartphone market in the first half of this year with a 41 percent market share, according to leading global market research firm Growth from Knowledge (GFK).
Huawei Sri Lanka Country Manager Peter Liuyi yesterday told reporters in Colombo that Huawei’s market share surged to 41 percent during the first half of the year, from 36.5 percent recorded by the end of last year.
Huawei’s market share in Sri Lanka’s smartphone market was a mere 7 percent in 2013 and Huawei was able to double its market share to 15.3 percent in 2015, becoming the fastest growing smartphone brand in the local market.
Liuyi also said that Huawei has also become the most preferred smartphone brand among Sri Lankan consumers.
He noted that Huawei is the number two brand in the global market with a 15.5 percent market share at the end of the second quarter of 2018. Huawei only trails behind Samsung, which had a little over 20 percent market share, after replacing Apple to clinch the second position.
He said that due to the popularity of Huawei Mate and P series and the rise of Huawei Nova in the mid-range segment led to increase the market share of Huawei. Huawei has an over 1600 dealer network in Sri Lanka. Huawei phones are also sold at over 400 outlets belonging to Singer Mega, Singer Plus and Sisil World stores.
Huawei has been increasing its commitment to research and development (R&D) over the years.
The company’s R&D budget hit US $ 17.5 billion last year, up from US $ 11 billion in 2016.
Huawei was ranked the sixth highest in global R&D spending last year. Going forward, the company has announced to invest between US $ 10-20 billion in R&D annually. Liuyi noted that Huawei’s brand recognition is also growing globally along with increasing sales.