OPPO aims to fuse technology and affection in its devices

 OPPO Mobiles entered the Indian smartphone market in early 2014 with its flagship device OPPO N1 that is the world’s first smartphone with a 5.9” screen, 206-degree rotating camera and rear touch panel. Besides the OPPO N1, OPPO’s Indian product portfolio includes the OPPO R1, OPPO Find 5 Mini, OPPO Neo, OPPO Yoyo and OPPO Joy. OPPO currently retails in 12 major cities and regions – New Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai, Bengaluru, Hyderabad, Ahmedabad, Jaipur, Chandigarh, Ludhiana, Kolkata, Pune and Lucknow and is on a network expansion drive. Globally, it is present in nine countries, namely, Indonesia, Thailand, Vietnam, Myanmar, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore and Taiwan, including India, and, at the same time, is planning to enter more markets.

Discussing its expansion plans further, Tom Lu, CEO, OPPO Mobiles India, interacted with VARINDIA and shed some light on the latest mobility trends, company’s distribution strategy and strategy around support. Excerpts:

Is the Phablet concept picking up among Indian customers? Will Phablets substitute smartphones in the near future in your opinion?
Yes, there is no doubt that the smartphone display sizes have been getting bigger. The adoption rate is rising which suggests that there is definitely a segment of market which is getting acquainted with big screen size phones or phablets. With the arrival of 4G, mobile internet usage will see a surge gloablly, especially the online video content. At the same time, according to our own research and some third-party research, customers who watch a lot of content online find phablets could provide a far better experience.

How much of your sales come from Channel, Retail and e-commerce media? Which one is flourishing for you at present?

Currently, we are retailing in 12 major cities and regions, and have already built up a strong network of retailing, and we have started to work with the nationwide retail chains like Sageetha. We are also planning to build our showrooms and exclusive stores soon. Right now, we are not selling or reselling online, thus offline retail definitely contributes most to our sales and would be the channel we focus most on.

How do you try to be at the cutting edge amidst hundreds of other smartphone brands?

At OPPO, we are committed to designing beautiful technology products with an open attitude. We aim to fuse technology and affection in all our products, and therefore OPPO has been relentless in the pursuit of the latest technology, the highest hardware quality standards and to delivering the element of positive surprise. I believe it is this attitude that sets us apart essentially.

What is your strategy around support?

Customers always come first during our business operation. We are targeting for an aggressive service network expansion this year to ensure customers of our commitment to better serve them. Within this year, we will have at least 200 service centres or partners pan India. Our products have a far lower repair rate as compared to the industry average.

What are your future plans for the Indian mobile device market?

OPPO currently has 6 phone models available in the Indian market since our entry in the market in February. We are targeting a product portfolio of at least 10 smartphones by the end of this year from low-cost to high-end smartphones. We will be targeting a widespread service network at the same time for better customer’s satisfaction.

satinder@varindia.com