China's Oppo and Vivo have made a splash in the global
smartphone market this year, which was previously under a duopoly of Korea's
Samsung Electronics and Apple of the United States, observers pointed out
Wednesday.
According to Strategy Analytics, Oppo accounted for 5.8 percent of the global
market and Vivo 4.9 percent in the third quarter of this year.
In other words, the two have more than doubled their market shares in just a
year to become the world's fourth- and fifth-largest smartphone manufacturers.
Because of the meteoric rise of the combo, conventional powerhouses are
starting to sweat ― their Chinese rivals Huawei and Xiaomi are no exception, as
Oppo and Vivo nudged past them in the world's most populous country during the
July-September period.
"Oppo and Vivo were regarded as also-rans just a few years ago. On the
back of their price competitiveness and respectable quality, however, they have
emerged as contenders not only in China but also worldwide," an analyst in
Seoul said.
"Now all industry insiders are keeping an eye on the ferocious Chinese
duo. The New Year might be a watershed for the two fast-growing corporations,
which share their origin."
BBK Group Chairman Duan Yong Ping is responsible for creating the two firms ―
the billionaire established Oppo in 2001, and as a later spin-off, Vivo was set
up as an affiliate of BBK Group in 2009.
The two, which forayed into the smartphone competition in 2011, also have
similar products and marketing strategies catering to the tastes of young consumers
and providing generous incentives to sales agents at offline outlets.
Basically, they come up with high-quality smartphones at affordable prices,
which prompt budget-sensitive Chinese clients to opt for their phones instead
of expensive premium devices such as the iPhone.
Currently, they mostly depend on the Chinese market but are attempting to wade
into other countries such as India, Malaysia, Indonesia and the U.S. so as to
diversify their revenue streams.
Of note is that they have employed Korean entertainers for marketing.
Oppo's model was the famous Korean actress Jun Ji-hyun while Vivo featured
Korean actor Song Joong-ki.
http://koreatimes.co.kr/www/news/tech/2016/12/129_220993.html
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