Handset market updates

The largest Russian handset retailer has published their quarterly estimation of the Russian market for Q1, 2007. According to their data, compared to Q1 2006, there was a 3% increase in number of phones sold (6.7mn handsets total) in Russia, while the financial growth was 12%.

The average price of the phones sold increased by 10% to $212, with around 40% of the sales being high-end handsets, which cost more than $200. A substantial 11% of the phones were priced over $400. The budget phone market (less than $70) grew as well - from 11.3% to 14.4%.

The report also states, that Sony/Ericsson sales (16.9%) overtook Motorola (15.3%), to enter Top 3, behind Nokia (25.7%) and Samsung (21.8%).

The report clearly shows that Russian market is growing and that it has a big potential for all of our wholesalers. We would be very pleased to hear about your business experience with the Russians - please leave your comments below.