Handsets shipments rise 108% in Bangladesh in Q3 CY14

New Delhi: Mobile handsets shipments grew 108% to 7.9 mn units in Bangladesh in the third quarter of 2014 over the previous quarter.

According to CMR’s Bangladesh Quarterly Mobile Handsets Market Review, 3Q CY 2014 report released today, “Bangladesh continues to show consistent growth in both the featurephone as well as smartphone segments. This is among very few South East Asian markets where growth is seen in both segments.”

Smartphones shipments accounted for over 20% of total sales, while feature phone as well as smartphone segments grew more than 100% QoQ. Among the local brands, Symphony Mobile continues to lead followed by Walton and Maximus. On an annual basis, the growth was 16% in terms of number of shipments.

Tanvi Sharma, Analyst, Bangladesh Telecoms Industry at CMR, said: “The impetus to the market is mainly from the smartphones segment, as compared to the Feature phones segment, although the latter has also recorded healthy growth. Sales of smartphones grew more than three times vis-à-vis the same quarter last year, indicating the strong opportunity that this market is throwing up for handset vendors, TSPs and solution providers. It is also an opportune time for local brands such as Symphony Mobile and Walton to leverage on the growth prospects.”

While Symphony Mobile’s share in the overall Bangladesh Mobile handsets market is 36% in terms of unit shipments, in the smartphones segment its share is a little over half of the market with a 53% share. Across the overall Bangladesh Mobile Handsets market as well as the Smartphones segment, Symphony Mobile, Walton and Maximus are the local brands with leadership positions, while Nokia and Samsung are the only ‘Tier 1’ international brands with a significant presence.

Faisal Kawoosa, Lead Telecoms Analyst at CMR, said, “Now as the Bangladesh smartphones market continues to show strong growth, it will be increasingly challenging for Symphony Mobile to retain its share. At the same time, while Indian players like Micromax, Karbonn and Lava are doing extremely well in the India market, they do not figure in the top three positions in any of the Bangladesh Mobile Handset segments. To my mind, these players need to take a closer look at their market entry and penetration strategies and address the gaps in roll-out, if any.”