Chinese phone vendor Vivo announced its expansion plan into the Middle East and Africa markets in a press release on Monday, with shipments in its home market in decline in the second quarter of this year.
Vivo shipped a total of 17.1 million smartphones in China between April and June, down by 19% year-on-year, according to data released by market research firm Canalys on Tuesday. But it remains the third largest vendor in the country with a market share of 17.5%.
Vivo, whose Y series smartphones, which feature an 89% screen-to-body ratio and an AI triple-camera, are now available in UAE and Morocco, said the company in the press release. It added that it will soon introduce them to other countries in the Middle East and Africa including Nigeria, Kenya, Egypt, Saudi Arabia and Bahrain.
According to Counterpoint Research, the smartphone market in the Middle East and Africa has grown by 6% year-on-year in the first quarter of 2019, while the feature phone market decreased by 6% during the same period, which demonstrates a growing demand for new smartphones in the region, said Vivo.
“The launch of Y series is just the beginning. We look forward to bringing our other widely popular products beyond Y series to consumers in the Middle East and Africa very soon,” said the firm.
However, Vivo is not an early bird in the region.
Shenzhen-based Transsion was the top one vendor in the African market, accounting for 33.1% of the market’s volume in the first quarter of 2019, while Huawei ranked third with a unit share of 11.8%, according to market research firm IDC.