With anti-China campaign going around, Chinese products are expected to have tough time in the Indian market.
Boycott of Chinese mobiles, crackers goes viral
Traders at Jagadish Market, a popular bazaar for smartphones in Hyderabad, are worried that their huge stocks of Chinese mobiles might go unsold this festive season, including Dussehra and Diwali, as a viral campaign to boycott Chinese goods gathers steam on social media to protest against China’s tacit support to Pakistan following the Uri terror attacks. “If you have any concern and respect for our martyr soldiers, please don’t buy Chinese goods this festival season”, is the message that has gone viral on social media.
People are also furious with China’s plans to construct a dam across a tributary of Brahmaputra river in Tibet so as to decrease the flow of water into India. The Chinese move came apparently as retaliation to India’s perceived move to review the five decades old Indus Waters Treaty that advantages Pakistan.
The anti-China campaign is expected to hit the sale of both Chinese mobiles and Diwali crackers, with market losses expected to be in the tune of around Rs 1,000 crore, according to sources in the Federation of Telangana Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FTCCI) who spoke to The
Sunday Guardian this week.
The social media campaign has targeted Chinese made mobiles specifically. Thousands of shops are already feeling the heat, with a drastic dip in sales compared to last year. Costly mobiles above Rs 20,000 comprise 15% of the market, while 60% sales occur in the range below Rs 8,000. Chinese mobiles account for around 35% of the budget smartphones in the country and the same is above 50% in Telangana and Andhra Pradesh, industry sources explained. This is because of the early entry of Chinese mobile manufactures into the South Indian market, in 2007.
Chinese mobile brands such as Lenovo, Asus, Coolpad, Gionee, Huawei and Vivo, all of which were witnessing roaring sales until about a month ago have taken a sharp beating from 1 October, said a trader in Secunderabad’s major mobile phones market, on the condition of anonymity. Along with these Chinese brands, two Taiwanese brands have also taken a hit, Acer and HTC.
Read more at: http://www.sundayguardianlive.com/news/6885-boycott-chinese-mobiles-crackers-goes-viral
