Mobile phone shipments grew by 24.7 per cent in the July-September 2015 quarter in the country due to a strong performance by feature phones, according to CMR’s India Mobile Handset Report.
Mobile phone shipments grew by 24.7 per cent in the July-September 2015 quarter in the country due to a strong performance by feature phones, according to CMR’s India Mobile Handset Report. CMR said that growth witnessed in the overall India mobile handsets market was attributed to the feature phones segment after a spell of multiple quarters.
“While the general belief at the moment is that smartphone is the growth catalyst for the India mobile handsets market, the results announced on Thursday reveal a contrary view,” said Faisal Kawoosa, lead analyst (telecom practice) CMR. Feature phones segment recorded over 35 per cent growth over the previous quarter, bettering the smartphones growth of 11 per cent, after a long spell of negative growth.
“Companies like Intex, Lava and Zen Mobiles continued their focus on achieving growth by penetrating deep into the heartland, serving the mass markets that still exist in much of rural India. This helped them serve both ends of the market, resulting in a comeback of the feature phones segment, at least during the current quarter,” he added.
