The rise of OPPO Mobiles to Top 5 smartphones brand globally and challenges ahead

Recently IDC reported that OPPO and Vivo are the new smartphone brands on Top 5 list of Global smartphone brands ousting Lenovo and Xiaomi from the list. This means a lot to any vendor who is in this highly competitive and dynamic market. The Lenovo when first entered the list, majority of the credit was given to its Motorola acquisition but the brand lost the edge very soon and is out of the honored list, which reminds us that nothing is permanent in this industry. We have seen the rise and fall of the brands like Nokia and Sony. We have seen dynamics changing the market every now and then. We will be discussing these factors that led to the rise of OPPO from just another Chinese smartphone brand to one of Top 5 global brands in industry.

OPPO Mobiles

Innovation:

Didn't we tell you earlier that OPPO is a brand to look upon when the revolutionary OPPO N1 was first announced OPPO N1 the first smartphone to have a 206 degree rotating camera, this made us realize that you necessarily don't need two cameras in one smartphone when you have to use only one at a time. After that many innovative design and features have been implemented in OPPO Mobiles , be it the thinnest smartphone OPPO R5 or the OPPO N3 which came with an automated rotating camera. The VOOC fast charge was something which helped a lot in healing the Achilles heel of Android Smartphones i.e. the battery issue.

Premium Quality and Build Design:

This is something which OPPO has maintained in all its smartphones even the lower priced ones such as the Mirror 3 or Joy 5. The phones from OPPO speaks loud and clear about the philosophy followed in OPPO. Many a times you might complain that the designs are copied/inspired from Apple but you can't deny the build quality or seamless experience for the same. Of course you can find many similarities in these designs but I have rarely seen any other brand making such sleek and light phones , easy on grip and feel nice to use.

The Color OS:

That's what matter the most for many people out there, how you utilize the capability of the hardware you are providing or what's the extent you tweak the Android OS , is it really helping the end user or you are just adding some bloatware to earn some more money from your partners. For me I am a great fan of Color OS specially Color OS 2.0 . To give you an Idea I have around 150+ SMS lying unread in my ASUS Zenfone because in notification I can read that it is a promotional message which is not required to open, however in Color OS I had the flexibility to delete such messages right when the message arrived as it gives me option to either delete or reply there itself. Gesture based actions are another good example of some useful customization. The OPPO smartphones also comes with no or a very few third party apps which you will not use. The battery backup of phones is generally good which points to well optimized customization made.

Associations:

OPPO as a brand has done a great job in finding partners to promote its smartphone, be it ICC world T20 Cricket championship or partnering with FC Barcelona. Association with Bollywood stars Hrithik Roshan and show like Big Boss has made the brand a house hold name and people can now connect to that when they choose to buy a smartphone from the brand.

OPPO offline stores

Offline Sales is not dead yet:

When OPPO and Vivo made it to Top 5 they replaced Xiaomi and Lenovo. Both the later brands known for aggressive online marketing and sales. Xiaomi specifically relies on Flash sales mode which worked wonders in initial years but this model is becoming mature now given the options available in market no one wants to wait for one complete week only to return empty handed from website which is supposed to simplify and expedite the shopping experience.

While Online presence is demand of current times, offline sales are not yet dead infact the opportunities are vast with enormous potential. OPPO and Vivo has proved it for one and all. OPPO has invested a lot in their offline channels, I have seen markets with mobile shops all green in colors, cutouts of Hrithik Roshan and Sonam placed outside for photo shoot for the fans. OPPO runs many schemes on these stores from free gifts to discount offers. The retailers are trained with the features of smartphones and invited also for launch events. The perks on higher sales numbers are definitely high to push retailers sell the OPPO devices on priority than other brands.

Challenges Ahead:

While all other factors were there for OPPO right from its first device, the last one i.e. offline sales channels has contributed lately and largely to the success of OPPO smartphones. But this is not the time to sit back and relax for OPPO the dynamics here changes in seconds, one new brand with some high specifications and low price all your previous plans needs to get revised. We always believed in OPPO's high quality standard but at the same time if you don't give the right specifications for the right price ( as per market trends) you loose the first battle then and there. OPPO needs to work a lot and harder on its pricing strategy. It may come from their manufacturing process, to apply Lean methodologies, apply DOTWIMP, Six Sigma or whatever it takes just focus on the right specification and price combination while keeping up the quality work and this is the real challenge to keep the momentum growing.