Chinese phone companies back with new vigour
Team Blitz Bureau
After the June 2020 clash between Indian and Chinese forces in Galwan Valley near Ladakh, India imposed restrictions on Chinese investments, banned over 200 Chinese apps such as Tik Tok and WeChat and put under scanner infrastructure projects by Chinses companies in India.
Now with the ties returning to normal and India’s National Security Advisor Ajit Doval in Beijing to take part in the India-China special representatives’ talks, Chinese companies are back in expansion mode in India.
According to a report in The Economic Times, Chinese smartphone companies are slowly expanding their operations here, investing again in brand promotion, appointing distributors and getting deeper into manufacturing.
We take a look at the journey of major Chinese smartphone brands in India.
Xiomi: The first Chinese smartphone company in India in 2014, Xiomi’s entry was led by its then Vice President Hugo Barra. The company made smartphones under the “Mi” brand. Its first phone in India was Mi 3 which was priced at Rs 13,999 and for which Xiomi partnered exclusively with Flipkart with the concept of “flash sales” for the first time. True to its name, the flash sale saw the entire Mi 3 stock being sold out within seconds.
In 2015, the company launched phones in Redmi series and by 2016 it had captured 50 per cent of the smartphone market. Xiomi set up its first manufacturing plant in India in 2015 in partnership with Foxconn. In 2017, the brand overtook Samsung to become India’s largest smartphone brand, a position it retained for several years.
In 2020, following the skirmish on the Ladakh border, there were investigations against Xiomi for tax evasion and its funds worth Rs 5,500 crore were frozen on charges of illegal remittances.
By 2022, Xiomi had started facing the heat in premium segment from brands like Samsung and Apple. But the company remains one of the top smartphone brands in India, particularly in the sub-Rs 20,000 segment.
Vivo: As with Xiomi, Vivo also entered India in 2014 and focused on the offline segment. Its strategy has been of incentivising dealers with attractive margins and pushing for premium placement on shop windows. Vivo has also been investing heavily in advertising and sponsorship. From 2016 to 2019 it was the main sponsor of the Indian Premier League matches. Its advertisements have also been featuring prominent stars of the Indian film industry.
Vivo phones are known for their high powered cameras and are the best choice for those obsessed with taking selfies. The company set up manufacturing facilities in India in 2015 in Greater Noida. The Galwan clashes led to tough times for this brand too but the company is now back to planning fresh investments and expanding its operations further in India.
Oppo: This was the third Chinese smartphone brand which entered India in 2014 and followed the same trajectory as that of Xiomi and Vivo. From the beginning, Oppo’s focus was on advanced camera features. It launched Oppo N1 series in 2014 which featured a unique rotating camera. Its phones are known for their premium front-facing camera quality.
The brand has also been sponsoring the Indian Premier League and bringing film stars as brand ambassadors. After the lows of 2020, the company is now back to planning above-the-line marketing, putting up hoardings and bringing Indian brand ambassadors.
OnePlus: Fourth Chinese premium smartphone to enter India in 2014, OnePlus brand belongs to BBK Electronics. Initially, OnePlus used an invite-based sales model, creating a sense of exclusivity and demand among tech enthusiasts. Community-driven growth: The brand emphasised community feedback for product improvements, building a loyal and engaged fan base. In 2016, OnePlus abandoned the invite-only model, making its devices more accessible.
Between 2018 and 2020, the company opened its exclusive stores and partnered with Croma and Reliance Digital to strengthen its offline presence.
Realme: Launched in India in May 2018 as a sub-brand of Oppo, this brand was the brainchild of Sky Li, former Vice President of Oppo who understood the growing demand in the Indian market of feature-rich yet affordable smartphones.
Realme 1, the debut smartphone, was launched exclusively on Amazon India and it was priced under Rs 15,000. Within one month it had sold 400,000 units. In two months the brand established its independent status, separating officially from Oppo though it continues to share supply chain resources with parent company BBK Electronics which also owns Vivo, Oppo and OnePlus.
This brand was among the first to introduce high megapixel smartphones in India and those offering 5G connectivity.
Realme became the second largest smartphone brand in India in 2021, overtaking Samsung and solidifying its position in the Indian smartphone market.
