Inspecting the gadget game: Which consumer electronics brands are gaining and losing favour

CATEGORY ANALYSIS: CONSUMER ELECTRONICS

We'll get the boring (albeit impressive and well-deserved) headline out the way first: Samsung rules. Unequivocally. 

As we observed last year, the brand owns top spots in many of the sub-categories that make up the consumer-electronics category in our Asia's Top 1000 Brands research, and that hasn't changed. Samsung remains the top brand in mobile phones, TVs and smart-home tech; second in wearables, computers/tablets, and home audio/headphones; fourth in cameras; fifth in printers; and fifth in gaming hardware (we assume due to its gaming monitors).

No other brand manages such multi-category dominance. The most dramatic Samsung fact we can point to is that the brand this year is the top smartphone maker in 'only' nine markets, rather than the 10 it owned last year (Apple surpassed it in Vietnam).

So we need to look elsewhere for interesting brand moves. 

Mobile phones

Huawei has tumbled from third place to seventh in this, the marquee consumer electronics (CE) category. That's a precipitous slide that is echoed in Huawei's fall from 83rd to 120th in the overall Top 1000 ranking across APAC. We can't rule out a brand with Huawei's resources turning the tide. But clearly it has work to do in convincing consumers beyond the mainland that its phones, which now exist outside of the mainstream software ecosystem, are a smart investment.

Huawei's loss may be two other China-made brands' gain, as both Oppo and Vivo advanced: Oppo rose from seventh in 2019 to fifth, and Vivo is nearing the top 10, rising from 16th to 11th. The latter has not yet cracked the top 1000 Asia-wide, however, while Oppo has reached 361st. 

Xiaomi, meanwhile, seems to have lost the momentum it had as the first Chinese budget brand to break out internationally. It falls from eighth last year to 12th, reflecting its drop from 99th last year to 140th in the APAC-wide, all-brands ranking.

Replacing Xiaomi in the smartphone top 10: Taiwan-based Asus, which is in the top five in three markets (Taiwan, Hong Kong and Indonesia) even though it has no new releases yet in 2020.

Computers and tablets

Another troubled Chinese brand stands out in this sub-category: Lenovo, which plummets from seventh to 19th (reflecting a slide from 210th to 582nd in the overall APAC top 1000 ranking). While it's true that the PC segment overall is less vital than it once was, it's a shame to see that Lenovo can't at least parlay the venerable ThinkPad name into a top 10 ranking across the region in the computer/tablet category. LG benefits from Lenovo's fall, moving into the 10th spot, up from 12th last year, which has helped the brand move into the top five in the overall APAC-wide top 1000 ranking.

Cameras

This sub-category remains mostly unchanged, with Canon, Sony and Nikon holding on to the top three positions. GoPro, which has built brand equity by making quality products for a particular niche, scores an impressive gain in consumer perception, rising from 10th last year to seventh in this sub-category. In the overall top 1000 ranking, GoPro vaults upward 288 spots to 608th.

TVs

The top dogs in this sub-category remain unchanged from last year. Guangdong-based TCL Technology enters the top 10 (at 10th), up from 12th last year. The up-and-coming brand's low prices and high quality have made it a top choice in many countries worldwide; it's No. 3 in the US market, for example. Incidentally, the company has also released a line of Android smartphones in recent years.

Wearable devices

Apple remains on top here—no great surprise as Samsung hasn't refreshed its offering in some time. In fact, Apple has consolidated its lead; it now holds the No. 1 spot in nine markets, whereas last year it had seven. However, the most interesting story is perhaps that of Netherlands-based LifeSense, which makes smart textiles and sensor-based products focused on helping people conquer urinary incontinence. LifeSense moved up from 15th to 10th this year, displacing China kids-watch brand XiaoTianCai, which falls to 12th.

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