Business and Money Tips

From Bloomberg news dated 23 November 2016 (abridged version) Two years ago, Oppo and Vivo couldn’t crack the top five in China’s smartphone market. Now they outrank everyone after elbowing Apple aside, thanks to people like Cheng Xiaoning. Cheng runs a thriving electronics store in the rural town of Miaoxia, tapping into her WeChat social media account to promote the brands that pay the biggest commission, and in her case that’s Oppo and Vivo. While such payments start at about 40 yuan (US$6), they escalate for more expensive handsets and reach almost 200 yuan for Oppo’s high-end smartphones. “That’s why I like to introduce the Oppo R9 Plus to potential customers,” she said. “Business has been perfect, actually never been better.” Cheng and tens of thousands of like-minded boosters form the vanguard of the pair’s  charge  against Apple Inc. and Samsung Electronics Co. Working with the local stores that dominate sales in China’s far-flung provinces, Oppo...

When people ask Tony Chen, CEO of Oppo, to cut his price for his company's latest flagship device R9 Plus to be way below Samsung Galaxy S7, here's what he says, "I prefer to add value". Oppo ended up selling 1 million units in 3 days!  Oppo's value add has 8 features that others don't have: 2-years warranty (vs others 1-year, worth at least S$400) First year free accidental cracked screen repair, worth S$180  One-to-one exchange for repair, worth the phone itself S$769) Free 4 screen protector replacements in first year (worth S$60) Free screen glass protector (worth S$15) Free back casing protective cover (worth S$15) Free headphone worth S$80 Free Oppo water bottle worth S$20 Total value add of Oppo: S$1,539 (double the value of the phone S$769) Discounting creates the perception that you are cheap. When you discount, you encourage price shoppers, not loyal customers. A far better way is to add value. There are 2 magical ways that you too...

(This article is taken entirely from Quartz) First it was Xiaomi. Then it was Huawei. Now two other domestic brands are making inroads into China’s cutthroat smartphone industry. Their recipe for growth is simple, but their relationship remains shrouded in mystery. Vivo is a smartphone brand that’s barely known outside of China, but it’s growing steadily in its home market. In the second quarter, Canalys estimates that its market share jumped from 4% one year ago to 8% by the end of June. Vivo is currently ranked as China’s fourth most-popular brand. Xiaomi, Huawei, and Apple occupy the top three spots at roughly 15% market share each, but Vivo stands out for its growth. Another brand little known outside China, Oppo, has achieved equivalent domestic growth, with market share steadily climbing. While Vivo and Oppo haven’t reached Xiaomi’s rocket heights, they’ve nevertheless enjoyed respectable success amidst a stagnating market , and together make up roughly 15% of overall domestic ...

Despite their meteoric rise in the mobile phone industry, few people have ever really heard of Oppo. This 2016, the fastest growing sales in the smartphone industry is not Samsung or Xiaomi but Oppo.  Here are some things you might want to know 1. Oppo's CEO is Tony Chen Tony founded this company in 2004 in Dongguan, southern China.  Little is know about Tony Chen, except that he is young and energetic.  2. Oppo used to make a lot of high quality MP3 Players Before they ventured into mobile phones, Oppo made portable media players (PMPs) that were released only in China and very few other Asian markets. These MP3 players were very well received and highly acclaimed in China.  3. Oppo started smartphones in 2008 Oppo is actually older than Xiaomi in this industry. The year 2008 was also the year when Samsung and LG were small players in the smartphone market.  4.  Oppo innovates Oppo’s first mobile phone didn’t really impress a lot of...