According to data released by the analysts at Strategy Analytics and Counterpoint Research, Huawei Consumer Business Group (CBG) became the third largest smartphone manufacturer by market share, commanding 10% of the global market.
The Chinese market contributed a large part of this total figure with 467 million mobile phones shipped for the year. Among the top five vendors—Samsung, Apple, Huawei, OPPO, and Vivo—the three Chinese brands account for almost 20% of the global market share. Huawei ranked third overall, with nearly 10% market share, maintaining a steady growth despite a weaker global market. In total, Huawei shipped 139.3 million units in 2016, up 30.2% from 2015.
Despite the softening of the global smartphone market, Huawei’s annual growth in shipments shows strong momentum and continues to perform above the industry average. Shipments grew from 75 million in 2014 to 108 million in 2015 and approximately140 million in 2016. This industry-defying growth consolidated Huawei’s position as the number three global vendor.
Huawei has also modified its channel strategy, growing the total number of its offline service stores to more than 460 across 45 countries worldwide. The company launched its “1,000-county plan” in China, aiming to set up 1,000 stores across the country. Huawei has also established long-term and stable partnerships with thousands of distributors and retailers all over the world. The global public channel as a share of revenue increased to 71% in 2016, up 13 percentage points from 2015. The number of retailers offering Huawei devices across the world also increased to more than 70,000.
