Samsung faces tough but ‘doable’ challenge to rise to top in India handset market

New Delhi: It’s been a tough few years for Samsung in the Indian handset market, where it has struggled to keep pace with or beat back competition from Chinese rivals such as Xiaomi, Vivo and Oppo.

The first signs of vulnerability came when Samsung lost the smartphone crown to Xiaomi in the September quarter of 2017. In July-September 2019, it was pushed to No. 3 in smartphones by another Chinese player, Vivo. In the same quarter, Samsung also lost its top position in the overall market – smartphones and feature phones – to Xiaomi, after some nine years at the top. Xiaomi though only sells smartphones. Meanwhile, Oppo and Realme are breathing down its neck.

According to analysts, Samsung wasn’t as nimble as its Chinese rivals and couldn’t take advantage of the expansion in the online segment. They however added that Samsung can bounce back, given its investments in