Xiaomi smartphone sold best on China's "Single's Day" Issue lies in "high-end": Yasuhiro Yamane's latest Chinese mobile phone situation

　In the last few years, it has been customary in China to hold large-scale sales several times a year, mainly on major e-commerce sites. In particular, November 11th is marked with the number "1", so it is called "Single's Day" and a big sales competition will be held to stimulate winter consumption. For example, e-commerce giant JD.com (Jingdong) had sales of 311.4 billion yuan, or approximately 5.5375 trillion yen, from 20:00 on November 10th to 14:09 on 11th. In recent years, this sale, which is also called "double 11" because there are two 11s in a row, is the period when smartphone manufacturers are most focused on sales, such as discounts on their main products.

Xiaomi's share in the Chinese market is 4th

　Huawei's share of smartphones in China was overwhelmingly strong until 2020. However, due to the supply shortage of processors, the number of production units has decreased sharply, and now the market share has fallen to the fifth place. Instead, Huawei has always been followed by vivo and OPPO, which have risen to the top, and according to a Canalys survey, both are ranked first and second in terms of market share in the third quarter of 2021. And Honor, which became independent from Huawei, soared to the third place. The market share of the three companies is evenly matched, and it will be interesting to see which of these three companies will take the top spot in the future.

On the other hand, Xiaomi, which has been releasing products with excellent cost performance one after another, has the 4th largest market share in China. Looking at the momentum of the company, it is easy to think that it is No. 1 in China, but it is in a situation where it is overtaken by Honor. That said, this wouldn't be a bad thing for Xiaomi. China is the world's largest smartphone market, but Xiaomi is increasing its global presence by increasing smartphone sales overseas. vivo and OPPO are biased toward sales within China, and are greatly affected by trends in the domestic market. By selling products evenly around the world instead of being the top domestic company, Xiaomi is trying to solidify its position as the number one global market share.

　After looking at the current state of the Chinese market, what was the sales situation for the dual 11 smartphones in 2021? Looking at the data from JD.com, the results are interesting. The best-selling smartphone in the double 11 sale was Xiaomi's "Redmi K40".

"Redmi K40" and "iPhone 13" sold on Singles' Day

Redmi K40 uses Snapdragon 870 as the processor , 6.67-inch display, 48-megapixel + 8-megapixel ultra-wide-angle + 5-megapixel macro camera, 20-megapixel in-camera, 4520mAh battery, supports high-resolution music playback. The display is driven at 120Hz and supports a touch sampling rate of 360Hz, covering gaming use, and the thin body of 7.8mm makes it easy to hold. The price is 1999 yuan (about 36,000 yen) for the 6GB + 128GB model. In China, smartphones in the 1,000 yuan range are gaining popularity, and among them, it can be said that it is a product that is excellent not only in cost performance but also in balance.

　Next to this Redmi K40 was Apple's "iPhone 13". In a situation where the display size exceeds 6 inches, the "iPhone 13 mini" is relatively expensive, and the Pro series has high performance but is expensive. Chinese consumers probably say that the MUJI model is the most cost-effective. The “iPhone 12” is also in 4th place.

　When looking at other products, Xiaomi is "Redmi 9A" "Redmi Note 9" Four models, "Redmi Note 9 Pro" and "Redmi Note 10 Pro", are ranked in, accounting for half of the top 10 models sold. After all, the high cost performance of Xiaomi products has gained popularity, but on the other hand, there is not a single model of the "Mi" and "Xiaomi" series, which has the main model and high-end. Although the low-priced model will be popular in the double 11, it will be necessary for Xiaomi to let the high-end model bite in here.

Honor to replace Huawei?

　If you look at the other models, Honor has two models, "Play 20" and "Play 5T". It was a result that made me realize Honor's popularity in China. Honor didn't have a presence after being separated from Huawei, but it has now joined the ranks of major manufacturers through steady product development. Moreover, Honor aims to become the technology leader in China by introducing the high-end model "Magic3" series. Since Honor was a Huawei brand, it is well-known, and Honor's new products are always attracting attention. Xiaomi, which uses the latest technology such as folding displays and under-display cameras, may become a big rival to Huawei in place of Honor.

　And another model ranked in the top 10 is "realme Q3s". It is a low-priced machine of 1599 yuan (about 29,000 yen) equipped with Snapdragon 778G, and there are many products in this class from other companies, and the difference in brand power has a large impact on the number of sales. Realme is a brand separated from OPPO, and it is being re-imported from India to China, but it is gaining popularity mainly among young people due to its low price and high brand image. The price/performance balance is a good match for Xiaomi's Realme, and will likely become a competitive force for Xiaomi's lower-priced models.

How to increase sales of high-end models

　This As you can see from the results of the double 11, Xiaomi's strength was conspicuous, but the model that sold was a model that emphasized cost performance and price. Honor, which has a wide range of models from high-end to low-priced models, will be in conflict with Xiaomi's product lineup, and the presence of realme is a threat in low-priced models. Although Xiaomi does not specialize only in the Chinese market, there are still many issues such as how to increase sales of high-end models that can compete with the iPhone not only in China but also overseas. I would like to pay attention to how much Xiaomi's high-end model will increase sales in China's large-scale sale in the future.

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