China’s Tecno Knocks Off Samsung to Become Africa’s #1 Smartphone

Tecno, for the first time, edged out Samsung to become the top smartphone brand in Africa in 2020 thanks to a steady stream of new, affordable devices backed with robust marketing budgets, according to the latest data from Counterpoint Research’s Market Monitor service.

Tecno’s ability to grow its share of the market last year is even more impressive considering that overall African smartphone shipments last year fell 6.7% compared to 2019.

The latest Counterpoint figures highlight what’s been a developing trend of Chinese handset makers coming to dominate the African market over several years. Seven out of the top ten smartphone brands are Chinese with the three Transsion brands (Tecno, iTel, and Infinix) alone accounting for 37% of the entire market.

Key Highlights From Counterpoint Research’s Latest Report on the African Smartphone Market

  • TECNO became Africa’s top smartphone brand in 2020. Despite disruptive trading conditions in the first half of the year across key Sub-Saharan Africa markets, TECNO came back strongly in the second half after successfully launching models in the affordable segment, and continued market spending throughout the pandemic. TECNO is poised for further market share gains in 2021.
  • XIAOMI shipments grew 126% YoY, as the brand made aggressive market entry initiatives, with encouraging sales in Egypt, Morocco, Nigeria and Kenya. The company is re-establishing its offline presence and will benefit from more direct involvement in managing channels, which will reflect in further market share gains in 2021.
  • HUAWEI held on to the fourth spot, mainly due to resilient performance through the first three quarters of the year, despite headwinds from the US trade ban. It benefitted from strong market presence and brand image, and good volume from the entry-level Y series. However, the brand’s shipments declined significantly in Q4, and are expected to slide further in 2021. Some of its market presence and resources may be taken over by the newly spun off HONOR brand.

Read the full report on the Counterpoint Research website.

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The post China’s Tecno Knocks Off Samsung to Become Africa’s #1 Smartphone appeared first on The China Africa Project.



source https://chinaafricaproject.com/2021/04/20/chinas-tecno-knocks-off-samsung-to-become-africas-1-smartphone/

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