The average price of smartphones sold in Romania stood at 940 lei (more than EUR200) in the first half, up 50% compared with 2013, when the average price was RON640. The average smartphone price rose 30% in 2017 and the market grew at an even higher rate by value, so many actors were expecting a slowdown in 2018.
The growth drivers of the market are the middle and upper range phones, says Alexandru Costache, head of telecom product management with Samsung Romania, the local smartphone market leader, which accounted for almost half of the smartphone sales in Romania in the first half, increasing its market share.
“The mid and high segments account for about 50% of the local smartphone market by value and 20% by volume at the moment. The two segments are the growth drivers of the local smartphone market as technology is progressing fast,” Costache told ZF.
Sales were even faster to increase on the segment of smartphones priced at more than EUR600, he added.
“As for the premium segment, smartphones with price tags starting at about EUR600, the market rose by 78% in the first half by value, and Samsung’s market share stood at more than 43%.”
Samsung’s main rivals are Apple and Huawei in Romania, both by number of phones delivered and by sales value. Samsung, which posted RON4.2 billion revenue in the country in 2017, sells twice more phones than Huawei and its sales are double Apple’s by value.(EUR1=RON4.6490)
(English version by Loredana Fratila-Cristescu)