Major Chinese phone maker Oppo will treat Oppo and OnePlus as “dual-primary” brands, it was announced at an event to mark the 9th anniversary of OnePlus on Dec. 17. Oppo will invest RMB 10 billion ($1.43 billion) in OnePlus in the next three years as part of the new strategy, according to Liu Zuohu (Pete Lau), founder of OnePlus and chief product officer of Oppo.
Why it matters: Since the two firms merged in 2021, OnePlus’ positioning has become somewhat unclear – it offers a less premium experience compared to Oppo and has lost some of its unique features. The new strategy and investment seem intended as a strong push to make OnePlus stand out again.
Details: In addition to the $1.43 billion investment, Oppo will also share more resources in terms of technology, retail channels, and after-sales services with OnePlus.
- The Oppo Research Institute Innovation Accelerator and Oppo’s research and development department will offer more cutting-edge technology to OnePlus as part of the new strategy.
- Oppo will also put OnePlus devices on shelves at its 5,000-plus offline retail outlets in China.
- The two brands will also share more than 1,000 offline after-sales networks.
- According to Liu’s comments, Oppo will become a “global tech brand”, with its two series Find and Reno focusing on imaging systems and design respectively.
- OnePlus will focus on performance and selling through online channels, Liu added.
Context: Liu founded OnePlus in 2013 after working at Oppo for 15 years. The two companies belong to BBK Electronics, with OnePlus manufacturing their phones in Oppo’s factories.
- Liu returned to Oppo as chief product officer of the brand in 2020, a role he assumed in addition to his duties at OnePlus.
- Including OnePlus sales, Oppo is the fourth-largest phone vendor worldwide, accounting for 10% of the global market in the third quarter of 2022, according to hardware consultancy Canalys.