European smartphone shipments in Q2: Huawei fell, Xiaomi rose, and Samsung remained in first place

According to a research report released by international research organization Canalys, in the second quarter of 2019, the European smartphone market shipments were 45.1 million units, almost the same as the 45.2 million units in the same period last year. Among them, Samsung (18.3 million units), Huawei (8.5 million units), Apple (6.4 million units), Xiaomi (4.3 million units), and HMD (1.2 million units) ranked the top five in terms of shipments. Data shows that the combined market share of the top five brands in Q2 was 85.8%, an increase of 2.9 percentage points from 82.9% in the same period last year.

Samsung surged to over 40% market share in Europe in the second quarter, its highest in five years, as it shipped 18.3 million smartphones. It brought a range of competitive new devices to the market, focusing on its A series, which exceeded 12 million units. The four major models in the series, Galaxy A10, A20e, A40 and A50, each shipped more than any other vendor's full range of smartphones in Europe. Its main competitor, Huawei, was affected by US political restrictions and its shipments fell 16% to 8.5 million units. 

Apple remained the third largest supplier, down 17%, shipping 6.4 million iPhones. Xiaomi took advantage of its strong market to gain further share, up 48% to 4.3 million units. HMD Global completed the top five, down 18%, shipping 1.2 million smartphones. 

"Samsung has clearly lost enough share in Europe," said Ben Stanton, senior analyst at Canalys. "For years, a focus on operating profits stifled its product strategy. But this year the shackles are off, and winning back market share is its clear priority. But its success depends on more than just product strategy. Samsung was quick to capitalize on Huawei's US Entity List issues, working behind the scenes to position itself as a stable alternative in conversations with key retailers and carriers. The lack of brand loyalty among users of low-end and mid-range Android smartphones, which had long suffered for Samsung, has been the catalyst for its best performance in years. Europe has long been one of the most volatile smartphone markets in the world for brands, fraught with danger but also with opportunity."

"Xiaomi is now a major force in Europe," said Canalys analyst Mo Jia. "Its core strengths remain price-sensitive national, online and open market channels across Europe, but it is increasingly trusted and supported by key mobile operators. It is not necessarily in the interests of the channel for Samsung to become stronger. If Samsung consolidates its power over weakening Huawei, it can negotiate margins more aggressively. For this reason, distributors, retailers and mobile operators are actively looking for alternative brands to fill the gap and reduce their reliance on Samsung. Xiaomi initially did not gain favor with Western European operators because of its lower channel margins, but as smaller brands fade, the appetite to work with Xiaomi is growing. Xiaomi also benefited from its early foray into 5G.