New Delhi
Sony had less that 0.01 per cent of the total Indian smartphone market share in the first quarter of 2019, according to Counterpoint Research. Sony Mobile, however, said that it would continue to monitor the market situations and business feasibility in the country. “Our focus markets are Japan, Europe, Hong Kong and Taiwan to drive profitability and future prospects in the 5G era,” Sony Mobile said in a statement.
“We have ceased sales in Central and South America, the Middle East, South Asia, Oceania, etc. in FY 18,” it added. The company assured that it would continue its customer support operations including after sales support and software updates for existing customers in India. The India smartphone market is currently dominated by Chinese players like Xiaomi, OPPO, Vivo and OnePlus among others, besides South Korean tech giant Samsung.
Shobhit Srivastava, Research Analyst, Mobile Devices and Ecosystems, Counterpoint Research, said the pressure from Chinese brands and Samsung in the major price segment resulted in continuous decline of sales for Sony. “With declining sales in India and other markets, Sony took the right decision to focus on the high ASP (average selling price) markets such as Japan,” Srivastava said.
Sony India in July last year brought its flagship “Xperia XZ2” smartphone for Rs 72,990 to India that turned out to be its last launch. “In a cut-throat market like India where Chinese smartphone brands rule the roost with industry-leading specs and having over 60 per cent market share, it’s tough for other brands to garner a meaningful revenue share,” Prabhu Ram, Head, Industry Intelligence Group, CMR, said.
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