ITWeb TV: Vivo eyes sweet spot position in SA

Chinese smartphone manufacturer Vivo aspires to become one of South Africa's top three smartphone brands, filling a gap in a highly competitive market. In an interview with ITWeb, Vivo's general manager for South Africa, Tony Shi, outlined the company's strategic moves to achieve this goal. Globally, Vivo ranks within the top five, with an 8% market share, according to preliminary data from Omdia for Q3.

The top three global vendors are Samsung, Apple, and Xiaomi, followed by Oppo in fourth place. The IDC's Worldwide Quarterly Mobile Phone Tracker revealed that Vivo shipped 21.2 million smartphones globally in Q2. Historically, the South African smartphone market has been dominated by Samsung, Apple, and Huawei, with other brands like Honor, Xiaomi, and Oppo entering the scene recently.

Huawei's ban from using Google Mobile Services in 2019 created an opportunity for Vivo, as the company adjusted its local product strategy in 2023 by including a medium and flagship range of smartphones sold via network operators. This shift led to a year-on-year increase in Vivo's market share, positioning the brand among the top four Android vendors.

Vivo's product strategy focuses on covering all price points, from R2,000 to over R40,000, providing consumers with a wide selection of devices. The company has partnered with all four major networks and retail channels to sell its devices in South Africa. Vivo is set to launch its X500 series flagships in November, featuring advanced camera capabilities and other innovative features.

However, the company has ruled out bringing foldable smartphones to the South African market due to rising memory costs, which make local production less profitable.