Xiaomi posted a soft quarter in Q4 2022. The Chinese vendor shipped 33.2 million units of smartphones globally, down -26% YoY. It is the fourth consecutive quarter that the vendor posted annual decline.
In addition to the mixed consumer demand, unfavourable economic conditions, and COVID-19 disruptions – the headwinds that the whole industry is facing, Xiaomi suffered greatly from inventory corrections which in turn dragged down its shipment performance significantly this quarter, especially in India and in China.
- Xiaomi lost its top position in India smartphone market, the first time ever in the past twenty quarters. Xiaomi is facing strong headwinds in the market, including the mounting pressure from local authorities on Xiaomi’s alleged law violation, the intensified competition in Android camp, the exits of local top management team, and the over-dependence on the online channels which has showed sluggish growth pattern in recent festive season. Moreover, the vendor’s inventory reduction initiative further hurt the vendor’s shipment performance in the country. We remain cautious on Xiaomi’s performance in India in 2023 having the above headwinds.
- Xiaomi continued its falling track in China smartphone market. Though it maintained in the country’s top five list, Xiaomi largely underperformed the overall market and its peers. Its share in domestic market fell four percent points annually. In addition to the headwinds that the whole industry is facing (the lengthened replacement cycle, covid-related disruptions, and impaired confidence both from consumers and industry players), Xiaomi suffered from the inventory reductions and management reshuffle in China as well. From sales perspective, however, Xiaomi’s position is healthier. In the recent China 11.11 online festival, the vendor topped Android camp both by volume share and by value share, back by its strong performance in the entry-tier. We are relatively more optimistic on Xiaomi’s performance in home market in 2023, assuming the market will be stabilized after local government lifted the zero-covid policy in Q4 2022 and Xiaomi’s inventory clear-off will be completed properly in the first half of 2023.
Our latest report on Q4 ’ 22: Xiaomi: Shipments Tumbled. WSS clients could access the report via this link.
Meanwhile, we have employed TechInsights SA Lens to evaluate vendors and compare them with their peers. Below is the evaluation on Xiaomi’s performance in Q4 2022.
