SanDisk maintains lead in India consumer storage flash market, finds CMR Research

The India Consumer Storage Flash Memory market comprising Micro SD cards, SD cards and Flash drives witnessed a 33% year-on-year growth in 1Q CY 2015, recording 26.2 million unit shipments. Micro SD cards were the lead growth driver with 41% year-on-year growth in 1Q CY 2015 over 1Q CY 2014. Quarter-on-quarter performance improved by 4% in 1Q CY 2015 vis-à-vis 4Q CY 2014, with a 12% sequential growth in Micro SD card shipments. This was revealed in CMR’s India Quarterly Consumer Storage Flash Memory Market Review, 1Q CY 2015, May 2015 release.

In the overall India Consumer Storage Flash Memory market SanDisk continued to be the market leader in terms of unit shipments, in all three categories during 1Q CY2015. SanDisk maintained top spot in 1Q CY 2015 with a 27% market share in terms of unit shipments. SanDisk shipments grew by 5% year-on-year. Samsung toppled Transcend for number two spot. Samsung’s success was due to improved business through online sales.

Kingston and Strontium witnessed 79% and 62% year-on-year growth in terms of unit shipments, respectively during 1Q CY 2015, while the growth for HP was to the tune of 30% for the same period.

In terms of capacity, 8 GB remained the most favored capacity of Micro SD cards, with 36% market share in terms of unit shipments in 1Q CY 2015. The 4 GB capacity segment witnessed a 16% sequential growth in terms of unit shipments during 1Q CY 2015.

“In 1Q CY 2015, the market witnessed extensive shipments of 4 GB Micro SD cards largely by unbranded players, which collectively contributed 75% of overall 4 GB capacity shipments. This huge infusion of inventories by unbranded players is temporary in nature, as the market was expecting a change in duty regime starting April 2015. Huge stocks were piled up with Importers of unbranded Micro SD cards by end of March 2015, which will be liquidated in 2Q CY 2015. We estimate that as much as 35% of shipments of unbranded Micro SD cards occurred in the last 15 days of March 2015” stated Narinder Kumar, Analyst, InfoTech and Channels Practices, CyberMedia Research.

“With the current  favourable economic scenario along with stable Flash Memory prices, the unbranded device players have been making a significant contribution to the India consumer flash storage market, especially in the Tier-3 and smaller cities ” Narinder added.

“Growth of Micro SD Cards is largely driven by growth of the India mobile handsets market. Growing demand for smartphones as well as growing demand of higher extended memory for featurephones which have low in-built memory is leading to a surge in demand for higher capacity Micro SD cards” Narinder concluded.