Oppo, OnePlus and Realme to be independent entities in India: Things that may change – Times of India

China’s largest smartphone maker BBK, the parent company of Oppo, OnePlus and Realme, has reportedly restructured its Indian business to make the three brands independent entities. According to a report in Economic Times, BBK seems cautious of the way the government is taking action against Chinese companies, and therefore wants to separate the three businesses. Sources said that BBK Group is especially concerned about Oppo Mobile India’s business getting affected by any such action. The idea reportedly appears to be clear: To de-risk the business from the current and future government action against Chinese companies.
The move is not surprising considering that India is one of the biggest markets for Chinese smartphone giants. Four out of the top 5 smartphone companies in India are Chinese. And at least two of these three BBK-group owned companies — Oppo, Realme and OnePlus — are always in the top 5 other than home country rival Xiaomi. Sales in the Indian market also plays an important role in their ranking in the global smartphone market.
Sales of the three companies to be accounted for in their own books
The move means that the sales of the three companies will be accounted for in their own books, said the report quoting industry execs. BBK is said to have transferred the sales and distribution operations of OnePlus and Realme to their respective legal entities, OnePlus Technology India and Realme Mobile Telecommunications (India). Oppo Mobiles India – which was handling sales and distribution of the three brands till recently – will reportedly continue sales of its own brand (Oppo).
Oppo Mobiles India may see change in its distribution strategy
The report added that Oppo Mobiles India is also changing the way it operates. The company will now directly sell to large retailers and distributors, with the latter selling to the small retailers. The company is said to have already run such a pilot in Delhi. So far, the report says that Oppo Mobiles used to sell to entities (called as agents) owned and run by Chinese in several states. These would in turn sell to the retailers.
Oppo’s sister brands OnePlus and Realme too are said to be looking to partner with Indian contract manufacturers. This comes after requests from the government, the report said, quoting sources. OnePlus Technology India is said to have already begun signing billing, sales and distribution agreements with large retail chains and their distributors from this month. Realme Mobile Telecommunications has reportedly been following this strategy for quite some time.
Oppo Mobiles will, however, continue to manufacture all the three smartphone brands, as per the report.