HONG KONG: US sanctions have sunk Huawei Technologies Co.’s smartphone business. A different Chinese technology company gets the profits.
Xiaomi Corp has filled the void left by Huawei in the markets of Europe in Southeast Asia to China. It does so with a family playbook for many Chinese consumer brands – offering functional gadgets comparable to luxury rivals at prices that often underestimate them.
No company worldwide sold more phones in June, as Beijing-based Xiaomi outperformed Samsung Electronics Co., according to market researcher Counterpoint Research. For the second quarter, Xiaomi jumped on Apple Inc. to become number 2 in the world for the first time.
In Europe, it reached first place, with a market share almost doubled to 24% over the previous year. In price-sensitive markets like Spain, two out of five phones sold in the second quarter were manufactured by Xiaomi, Counterpoint said. The company was the main seller in Denmark, Belgium, Ukraine and Russia.