Oppo in Europe

One of the hottest smartphone brands in China enters the European market in 2019.

One year ago, we were talking about the imminent arrival of Xiaomi devices into European hands. Their first year has been so wildly successful that Apple is beginning to worry about losing their foothold in the market. It can be assumed that Xiaomi, whether intentionally or not, has opened the floodgate for Chinese manufacturers to try their hand in Europe.

Oppo, the smartphone brand run by BBK Electronics Group who claim to have 200 million users worldwide, have big plans for the young year. Having already tentatively introduced themselves in France, Italy, Spain, and the Netherlands in June of last year, Oppo will make their entry into the Polish market at the end of January. And more markets are coming: the push into Poland signifies the second wave of European expansion. Along with the United Kingdom, Romania, Bulgaria, Ukraine and Turkey are in Oppo’s sights for the first half of 2019. When it’s all said and done, the company could have a lasting presence in 41 European countries.

The Find X, a nearly €1000 device with a truly bezelless front and slide-out selfie camera, was Oppo’s first phone on offer in their new markets. Taking the reverse approach to Xiaomi by offering many devices at different price points, Oppo decided to release what they considered their finest product first, assuming the masses would flock to it. While the verdict is still out on this approach, the design and performance of the phone are certainly very attractive. Moreover, the choice to project presence with this particular device is not to say that Oppo is positioning themselves as a high-end smartphone brand.