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Oppo Has A New Strategy To Take On Samsung, Xiaomi, OnePlus

Chinese handset maker Oppo plans to go back to its “heavier” marketing strategy as it expands into a full price range company and targets the top spot in India’s intensely competitive smartphone market, currently dominated by Xiaomi and Samsung.

“As we enter the sixth year in India, it’s time for us to renew the brand identity. We are definitely going back to a heavier marketing strategy to rebrand ourselves as a technology innovator. We will put a lot of marketing efforts,” Will Yang, chief marketing officer for South Asia at Oppo, told ET.

Yang said Oppo’s ambition is to become No. 1 in India, a market that’s very complex due to the nature of consumers and their demands.

“A major obstacle has been the product evolution and how to bring revolutionary technology at affordable prices. Localisation has also been an obstacle,” he said.

The major portion of Oppo’s marketing expenditure went into partnerships – with the International Cricket Council for the ongoing World Cup, with Marvel Studios and with Wimbledon. It is also the lead sponsor of the Indian cricket team.

The company entered India in 2013, backed by aggressive marketing spends and high channel margins. From early last year, it cut back on spending in a bid to turn profitable, but its market share took a hit and the company dropped out of the top five in January 2018.

Since then, it has clawed its way back. Oppo, which bets majorly on the Rs 20,000-30,000 range, was the fourth-largest smartphone company in India with a 7.6% market share in January-March, according to International Data Corp.

“The marketing budget for the whole year will depend on sales performance and the resources we have,” Yang said, without disclosing figures for this year.

Oppo will leverage the ICC World Cup for promotions to drive sales in India, said Tarun Pathak, associate director at Counterpoint Technology Market Research. Oppo is one of the few brands in the market with an average selling price that’s higher than that of the market.

The company plans to introduce a variety of smartphones under its Reno series, which has replaced its F series. The new series will cater to the mid to mid-premium category. The company’s devices will be priced in the range of sub-Rs 10,000 to Rs 50,000.

“We will be more regular in the premium segment. Through the Reno series, we will offer the latest technologies at affordable rates,” Yang said.

Oppo is trying to infuse freshness and bring more clarity in terms of which segments to target, said Navkendar Singh, research director at IDC India.

“It must be pointed out that Rs 10,000 to Rs 50,000 is a wide hyper-competitive segment, accounting for around 2/5th of India’s smartphone market. And each sub-segment within this would need a different go-to-market and product offering,” he said.

Pathak of Counterpoint said Oppo’s Reno is a bid to differentiate and expand in the mid-to-premium segment, which is growing fast.

“Reno has a good chance to grab 2% market share in the next couple of quarters,” he said.―Gadgets Now

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