BBK’s silent dominance: Four Chinese smartphone brands thrive in India despite tensions

SHIFTS IN TECHNOLOGY and brand wars rocked India’s mobile phone market in the Noughties, with Finland’s Nokia, South Korea’s Samsung, and Canada’s BlackBerry dominating the first few years till unknown Chinese feature phones, affordable and innovative, disrupted the market. These Chinese phones gave India’s masses their first experience with mobile telephony.

Then came the dominance of the smartphone era. Apple’s iPhone (2007) blew away the competition with its touchscreen. India became one of the world’s fastest-growing smartphone markets, and also saw the emergence of Indian brands such as Micromax, Intex, and Lava, which assembled Chinese products. A clutch of new Chinese smartphone brands landed as the second decade began but ran into sceptical dealers burnt once by subpar after-sales service of the first wave of Chinese names. So much so that when vivo — one of the largest smartphone brands today — entered India in 2014, its marketing bosses had to wait hours to meet Indian dealers.

But vivo and the other Chinese brands had scented the size of the Indian market and dug in for the long haul. Their patience paid: from selling merely 100 units on the first day, vivo ended 2023 with unit sales of 22 million and with 15.2% of the market, according to IDC; in FY23, it had revenues of ₹30,329 crore. In the first three quarters of 2024, vivo had 16.2% of the market.

vivo and other Chinese players, such as OPPO and OnePlus, who landed in India around 2014, had distinct strategies. vivo and OPPO built a strong offline retail presence, while OnePlus launched online via Amazon India using an invite-only system. In 2018, Realme landed to challenge Xiaomi’s dominant Redmi smartphones.

But what do vivo, OPPO, OnePlus and Realme have in common? They are said to be owned by BBK Electronics, a global Chinese smartphone conglomerate, although there is no official structure showing their links with BBK.

Why are these four headline-grabbing brands worth talking about as a group? They accounted for approximately 46% of India’s smartphone market in 2024, according to CyberMedia Research.

The Chinese brands cracked the Indian market by being affordable, innovative, and engaging with consumers. vivo, Oppo, OnePlus and Realme reported an income of ₹85,316 crore for 2022-23.

“A majority of these brands entered India and operate independently competing for market share,” says Upasana Joshi, Analyst at IDC Asia Pacific. Consumers are not aware whether all these companies are part of the larger group owing to the market placement, but they love these competitively priced devices with high specifications.

Choosing The Right Battle

The Chinese offered high-quality smartphones with features comparable to those from established names then such as Samsung, Apple, LG, and Sony Ericsson and Indian brands such as Micromax and Lava. OPPO was about style and emphasis on photography, particularly selfies (optimised for Indian skin tones). OnePlus set out to be the most premium Chinese upstart, while vivo bet on high-quality cameras that today include artificial intelligence.

These brands have built strong offline and online distribution networks, aligning designs and marketing strategies with local preferences. They splurged on marketing and promotions, building a retail channel presence by offering over-the-top margins and incentives and even latching on to the Narendra Modi government’s ‘Make in India’ vision.

Prabhu Ram, VP-Industry Research Group, CyberMedia Research (CMR), says localisation has been pivotal to the success of BBK in India.

“By tailoring their smartphones to introduce India-first technological innovations that meet the unique aspirations and demands of Indian consumers, these brands have successfully established a strong presence in a highly competitive market,” he says.

In plain speak, vivo realised the Indian fascination with weddings and introduced a feature specifically for wedding portraits.

Challenged, Yet Thriving

These brands have grown gradually over the last decade despite challenges such as the geopolitical tensions between India and China, which have periodically ignited consumer boycotts and strained retailer relationships. For instance, the border clashes of 2020 led to widespread calls for banning Chinese products, denting both sales and public perception of these brands.

IDC’s Joshi says the Made-in-India campaign by these brands helped them through the times when anti-Chinese sentiments were strong a few years ago. “Narrative spread through on-shop retailers, ads, and promotional campaigns ensured the message was conveyed to consumers strongly. Localised apps and features centric for Indian consumers helped them further,” says Joshi.

For example, in 2019, OPPO integrated the government’s DigiLocker service DocVault, localised specifically for India to help promote paperless governance, in its proprietary operating system ColorOS 7.

Adding to the challenges were regulatory crackdowns. The Enforcement Directorate investigated vivo, OPPO, and their affiliates over money laundering after the income-tax department levelled tax evasion charges. The scrutiny raised questions about their business practices and hurt their market positioning.

Then, late last year, mobile retailers called for banning OnePlus and vivo sub-brand iQOO from doing business in India, citing anti-competitive business practices, such as deep discounting through online channels, exclusive partnerships with e-commerce platforms and preferential treatment to select distributors, which they claim severely harm brick-and-mortar stores.

Ram of CMR says the Chinese brands survived on the back of their large investments in the ecosystem, from manufacturing to retail, from community impact to supply chains, and their role in boosting local employment, particularly for women.

Playing The Long Game

In 2020, following the political tension created by military skirmishes along India’s border with China, a.k.a, the Line of Actual Control, many Chinese firms scaled back their investments. The Indian authorities accused them of money laundering and tax evasion. But, with the LAC tensions easing, business is returning to normal. The Chinese brands are again expanding their footprint in India.

OnePlus is leading this resurgence with its Project Starlight, investing ₹6,000 crore in its India operations over the next three years to improve device durability, develop India-specific features and enhance customer service by adding service centres and improving online service capabilities.

Over the past decade, vivo has invested approximately ₹3,500 crore in India’s manufacturing ecosystem. vivo has also formed a 49-51% venture with Indian contract manufacturer Dixon to produce electronic devices, including smartphones.

Realme, too, is ramping up investments in India, with a significant focus on expanding its offline retail presence.

CMR’s Ram says these brands have driven innovation in both the value-for-money (₹7,000–25,000) and premium (over ₹25,000) segments. Going ahead, they have to compete with Apple and Samsung in the super- and ultra-premium segments as Indian consumers shift from being price-conscious to value-conscious, fuelled by tech advancements and growing purchasing power.

The trend is clear: entry-level smartphones priced under $100 (₹8,500) reported a sharp 36% year-on-year decline in market share, dropping from 22% to 14%. The super-premium segment, consisting of smartphones priced above $800 (₹65,000), grew from 6% to 7%.

The Chinese brands are eyeing this lucrative segment, but it’s an uphill battle. “When it comes to premium smartphones priced at ₹45,000 or above, customers today have a plethora of options,” says Prachir Singh, Senior Research Analyst at Counterpoint Research. “In the ultra-premium segment, particularly for devices priced above ₹60,000, Apple dominates with over 65% market share.”

Initially, OnePlus, with its premium positioning, had managed to attract prospective Apple buyers with its significant price difference. “However, Apple has strategically reduced its effective pricing through promotions and discounts, making its devices more accessible,” says Singh.

Aiming for the ultra-premium market, OPPO, vivo, and OnePlus now offer foldable smartphones, directly competing with Samsung’s Galaxy Fold series. But the Chinese have not made much headway.

Singh says Samsung has over 80% of the foldable category. While Chinese brands are introducing foldables to showcase their technology and innovation, their sales numbers are low, says Singh.

However, the combined market share of vivo, OPPO, Realme, and OnePlus is expected to grow to 47% of India’s smartphone market by 2025 from 46% in 2024. And Indian consumers are poised to experience an exciting new era in smartphone technology, driven by groundbreaking innovations from Chinese companies, such as Huawei’s cutting-edge tri-fold screen.