Smartphone shipments to the Nordic sub region grew by 32% annually in Q2 2021, per our latest report available here from the Smartphone Country Share Tracker (SCST) Service. For the first half of 2021, shipment growth was 50% YoY. Obviously strong recover from Covid-19 contributed to the improved performance.
With a tech oriented and sophisticated consumer base both Samsung and Apple’s premium flagships have found broad appeal. Huawei’s and LG’s pull out clearly benefited the top two vendors who together captured over half of all shipments to this sub region in Q2 2021. Xiaomi, HMD (Nokia) and OnePlus took the third, fourth and fifth position respectively. The top five now account for over 8 in 10 devices shipped to this sub- region. HMD (Nokia) is under pressure with volume declining in the sub region YoY.
To date, the mature, experienced customer base have been unimpressed largely with Chinese brands who have found limited traction here unlike other regions. However, with the likes of Vivo, OnePlus and Xiaomi stepping up their premium portfolio launches, the second half of 2021 is set to be intensely competitive.
Some key questions to be considered for the sub-region include:
- With an upcoming portfolio refresh, can Apple and Samsung continue their dominance for the rest of 2021?
- Can the Chine vendors like Vivo, Xiaomi turn the tide in their favor in the Nordic region, as they transition to higher price tiers?
- How can mid-tier focused vendors make an impact here?