Xiaomi Corporation is giving Samsung a run for their money in China as they rise to the no. 1 position in smartphone sales to beat Samsung.
Xiaomi, founded in 2010, captured 12.5 percent of the 421 million units sold in China during 2014, up from a 5.3 percent share the year earlier, IDC said in a statement. Samsung shipments slipped 22 percent, the only decline among the nation’s top five vendors, as its share dropped to 12.1 percent, it said.
Chief Executive Officer Lei Jun through a strategy of low costs and targeted marketing of its smartphones has held Xiaomi into a global top-three vendor.
Selling of low-cost phones with decent specifications is Xiaomi’s focus, as well as the hype that it created through its flash sales which has helped it to obtain the top position,” IDC said.
Huawei Technologies Co. and Coolpad Group Ltd. rounded out the top five while Lenovo Group Ltd dropped to third spot with 11.2 percent in sales and shipments climbing to 13.7 percent in China last year.
In the fourth quarter, Apple was second in China behind Xiaomi. The maker of iPhones wasn’t among the top five for the entire year, according to the IDC data.
