The mobile market is a highly competitive environment, and since nothing lasts forever, it is to be expected that some brands will not survive in the market. From the recent past, we can mention, for example, the iconic brands BlackBerry and LG, which hung up the production of mobile phones and is instead focusing on other areas of consumer electronics. What if we told you that almost 500 brands have disappeared from the mobile world in the last six years? Yes, it sounds almost unbelievable.
As recently as 2017, there were more than 720 active brands smartphone manufacturers. Even in 2019, there were more than 690 brands. Since 2019, a gradual decline in the number of brands can be observed, mainly due to the global transformation of the world due to the coronavirus, and the related shortage of components. A lot of brands did not reach the “pre-covid” numbers last year or in the first half of this year, so a lot of them disappeared. In 2023, there is “only” in the world around 250 mobile brands.
How the number of mobile brands fared worldwide as of 2017 (Source: Counterpoint)
And while the number of global mobile players in the market remains consistent throughout (always over 30 companies), from the market in abundance regional or local brands were disappearing. Some have quit making phones for good, others have switched to making wearables or IoT devices where there isn’t as much competition. Almost 90 percent of local brands did not exceed 100,000 units sold this year, which is an indication that their number will decrease even more in the coming years. However, global brands are instead seeing sales decline, on average, by only 13 percent. Lava, Micromax and BLU brands recorded the highest decline, i.e. in our region not very well known and explored brands.
It’s getting harder and harder to stay profitable in smartphone manufacturing, with ever-increasing emphasis on software updates, the transition from 4G to 5G, the environment, and the ever-growing used phone segment. And we have to add to that growing competition, lack of parts or extending the life cycles of phones. However, several brands that were known as “local kings” had to end in the last six years. Until its end, there were rather jen thanks to his past and previously acquired reputation than due to superior sales and good financial results.
LG, Micromax, Gionee disappeared from the market…
Micromax, Intex and Karbonn branded smartphones have disappeared from India in the last six years. InnJoo and Xtouch have disappeared from the Middle East and Africa. China has registered the end of four brands, namely Meizu, Meitu, Gionee and Coolpad. Japan no longer sends Kyocera and NEC smartphones to the world, but probably the biggest impact on the mobile world was the end of South Korea’s LG.
According to Counterpoint, the number of active brands can be expected to decrease in the future as well, the number of which will gradually approach the two hundred mark. Nevertheless, there is a chance even for small brands to survive on the market in the coming years. That is, assuming that they will focus on a specific group of users and can afford to set higher prices. Companies that have taken this path are, for example, Fairphone (repairability, ecology), Doro (phones for seniors) or Sonim (resistant phones for extreme environments).
Source Counterpoint
2023-09-22 14:27:09
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