Russians rush to buy Chinese phones
Brands telephone Chinese smartphones running Android operating system are seeing strong demand growth in the Russian market this month.
This was fueled by increased spending by local users on essential electronics as sanctions from the US, UK and Western countries targeting Russia sent the value of the ruble into a free fall.
“Russian phone retailers are setting higher prices,” said Ivan Lam, an analyst at Counterpoint Research, a Hong Kong-based mobile phone market data research firm. , every few days, to cover exchange rate losses. Consumers are buying everything from smartphones to home appliances before the ruble continues to depreciate.”
According to a report by the Russian daily Kommersant on March 16, smartphone sales from major Chinese phone makers including Huawei, Oppo and Vivo increased significantly in the first two weeks of March, citing data transmission from the country’s largest mobile network operator MTS.
According to the report, the number of Huawei smartphones sold during this period is three times more than in the previous two weeks. At the same time, device sales of Oppo and Vivo both increased by 200% in the same period, while that of ZTE Corp and Realme increased by 100% and 80% respectively.
Huawei’s new smartphone models are seen at an electronics store in Moscow, Russia. (Photo: Shutterstock)
However, the rapid sales growth is reflecting panic in buying behavior among Russian consumers due to the weakening ruble rather than increasing local preference for Chinese smartphone brands. up. As of March 17, the ruble is trading at $104.47.
Mr. Ivan Lam said that the recent strong sales recorded by Chinese smartphone manufacturers may soon decline, as many distributors in Russia have stopped importing devices from China. because of exchange rate risk.
According to a Kommersant report, in the two weeks leading up to March, total smartphone sales in Russia quadrupled from February 24 to 28, compared with the previous four days.
At that time, Apple’s iOS and Android smartphone models as well as Samsung Electronics and Xiaomi were among the most in-demand models in the Russian market.
However, Apple later halted sales of iPhones and other highly regarded products in Russia from March 1, following Russia’s military offensive in Ukraine. Shortly after, a few days later, Samsung also followed in Apple’s footsteps when it announced the suspension of sales in Russia.
According to Arkady Markaryan, head of smartphone business at AliExpress Russia, major Chinese smartphone brands already have enough inventory in their local warehouses to meet daily demand. increasing, after the move to stop selling by Apple and Samsung.
However, international sanctions on the export of high-tech products to Russia, including payment and logistics restrictions, have created a major challenge for Chinese technology companies looking to continue doing business. business in this country amid the escalating war tension.
Transsion Holdings, a low-cost smartphone maker based in Shenzhen, recently announced that it is relying on the ability to pay in yuan to maintain its operations in the Russian market.
However, Mr. Lam pointed out difficulties with the yuan payment strategy. “The smartphone industry is still using the dollar to calculate the cost of production and pricing of handsets, so it is difficult to switch to yuan payments any time soon,” he said. .
Semiconductors and other key components used to make smartphones are mainly supplied by companies in the US, South Korea and Japan, all of which use US dollars for payments. international transactions.
Mr. Ivan Lam said that major Chinese brands such as Xiaomi, Huawei, Oppo and Vivo must also weigh the issues if the business risks in Russia outweigh their ambitions to expand sales in Western Europe. where many are protesting the conflict in Ukraine.
Washington may also impose new sanctions. Last week, US Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo warned that the country could “shut down” any Chinese company despite sanctions by continuing to supply chips to Russia.
at Blogtuan.info – Source: Soha.vn – Read the original article here
