FOCUS: Retailers earn 20% more on smartphones in July–August, high hopes on iPhones

MOSCOW, Oct 2 (PRIME) -- Sales of smartphones in Russia increased 20–21% on the year in money in July–August and 10–11% in units amid a bonanza of new models unveiled in the third quarter, whose total figures will be likely pushed up further by sales of old iPhone models at cheaper prices and offers of new ones, as the country’s major handset retailers said.

“Smartphone sales spiked 21% on the year in money and 11% in units in July–August. An average price rose 8.8% on the year to 12,400 rubles,” Sergei Tikhonov, a spokesperson for multi-channel retailer Svyaznoy, told PRIME.

Electronics seller M.Video has similar figures with a 20% increase in money and a 10% rise in units on the year.

“Demand for smartphones traditionally revives in the third quarter with the start of preparation for a new academic season. Moreover, this period was earmarked by the launch of interesting new offers from Chinese brands in the medium price segment, like Huawei Nova 2, Honor 9, Xiaomi Mi6, Nokia 6, and others,” Valeria Andreyeva, head of M.Video’s PR department, said.

“Lower prices for Apple’s iPhone SE and iPhone 6 have become another growth driver. An increase of customer interest in the devices in the price range of 15,000–25,000 rubles on the back of a lower demand in the segment of up to 5,000 rubles resulted in a higher average price.”

Tikhonov at Svyaznoy also said that the third quarter usually sees many new devices from various manufacturers, including A and B brands, and this July–September period has not been an exception with new models unveiled by Sony, Xiaomi, Samsung, and others.

“Apple’s iPhone 8 and 8 Plus are the key gadgets to influence the whole market. The iPhone X will appear on the market in the fourth quarter. Apple’s new devices will push total sales on the local market both in money and in units,” Tikhonov said.

The iPhone 8 and 8 Plus, which were unveiled by the U.S. giant on September 12, have been available on the Russian market starting from September 29 and the iPhone X will be offered from November 3. Svyaznoy and M.Video, along with other sellers, started accepting pre-orders for the iPhone 8 and 8 Plus on September 22 and will open pre-orders for the iPhone X on October 27.

“Among other factors of growth in sales in July–September, we can point out a decrease in prices of different gadgets, constantly popular consumer lending, and a higher demand for certain brands, in particular Samsung, Apple, and Xiaomi,” the Svyaznoy spokesman said.

“For example, Svyaznoy cut prices of the whole range of Apple’s smartphones that significantly propelled the retailer’s offline and online sales. On September 14–17, Svyaznoy’s sales of iPhones in units grew 35% against the previous week.”

In monetary terms, Apple, Samsung, Huawei/Honor, Xiaomi, and ZTE led the market in July–August, and in natural terms the five top brands were Samsung, Apple, Huawei/ Honor, ZTE, and Xiaomi with the fifth rank shared by Fly and Micromax, Tikhonov said.

In terms of operating systems, Android controlled 87–88% of the market in units, and iOS had 11–12%, according to Svyaznoy.

Alexandra Pertseva, PR director of handset retailer Euroset, said Apple held 33% of the smartphone market in money in July–August and Samsung had 31%, while in units, Apple had 14% and Samsung 26% of the market.

“As to prices of previous models of the iPhone, we’ve already reduced them, and prices will gradually fall further in the future. Thanks to emergence of new iPhones, we expect a stronger demand for Apple’s smartphones in October–December. Most likely, there will be a shortage of new iPhones by the end of the year not only in Russia, but all around the globe,” Pertseva said.

M.Video also expects the market to keep on growing in October–December “with sales of Samsung’s Galaxy Note 8 and, certainly, Apple’s iPhone 8 and the iPhone X to play their role.”

In January–August, smartphone sales jumped 16% on the year to 224 billion rubles and 9% in units to almost 18 million devices, while an average price increased 5% on the year to 12,600 rubles, according to Svyaznoy.

Apple held about 34% of the market in money in January–August and Samsung had some 30%, and in natural terms, Apple had 12.5% and Samsung more than 25%, as Pertseva at Euroset told PRIME.

(58.0169 rubles – U.S. $1)

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