Young smartphone brand Realme grows 132% in Q3 globally

New Delhi: The young smartphone brand Realme stood out with 45 per cent (on-year) growth and 132 per cent (on-quarter) growth globally in the third quarter this year, cumulatively shipping over 50 million smartphones by the end of Q3 worldwide, a new report said on Monday.

In India, it grew over 300 per cent (QoQ) grabbing 15 per cent share and getting close to the more established brand Vivo.

It has also become the world’s fastest brand to hit 50 million shipments since inception, according to Counterpoint Research.

“We expect consumers to shift more towards the mid and budget smartphone segments, opting for value-for-money products. This is the price range where Realme has a clear competitive edge with strong product offerings,” said Flora Tang, research analyst at Counterpoint.

Realme continued the aggressive product launch plan in 2020 despite the pandemic’s shadow, bringing fresh air to the market with realme 6/6 Pro/6i series, realme X3/X3 SuperZoom, the new Narzo series, and various models within the realme C series.

“These models, with premium features such as multiple cameras, AI-capable chipsets, long battery life, and stylish form factors, have received positive feedback among consumers from India, and various European and South East Asian (SEA) countries,” Tang said in a statement.

In the SEA region, Realme grew by 196 per cent (YoY) and 47 per cent (QoQ), demonstrating clear leadership in key countries including the Philippines, Malaysia, Indonesia, Thailand and Vietnam.

In Europe, it continued to expand and successfully entered the top-5 brands’ list in Russia.

It also became one of the Top-5 brands in several developed markets such as Australia and Singapore.

In the mature market China, realme was the rising star releasing four budget 5G models during Q3, namely realme V5 5G, realme X7 5G, realme X7 Pro 5G and realme V3 5G.

“Apart from the strong product portfolio, the efficiency of Realme to tackle the rapid market changes is also a key success factor. realme is a young brand, and thus we expect its organization and decision-making flow to be more immediate and flexible than the traditional electronics giants,” explained Tarun Pathak, Associate Director at Counterpoint.

In some SEA countries, Realme also provided live streaming e-commerce training to its sales representatives, encouraging them to try this novel way of conducting business while staying safe during the lockdown.

“Realme has been helping the emerging markets to develop towards a more digital economy. And its efforts paid off with the strong growth in Q3,” Pathak added.

The global smartphone shipments in Q3 grew by 32 per cent (on-quarter) but declined by 4 per cent YoY to reach around 380 million units, according to the latest research from Counterpoint’s Market Monitor service.

Top OEMs like Huawei, Apple, OPPO, Vivo, and LG have also experienced YoY declines in Q3, impacted by the lingering COVID-19 pandemic and slowdown in the global economy.