Oppo brings back premium Find X smartphones to global markets amid slow growth at home
South China Morning Post
4 min read
Oppo has brought back its high-end Find X series smartphones to overseas markets in a renewed international push, as Chinese Android handset vendors step up expansion efforts amid cutthroat competition at home.
The Chinese smartphone giant - the world's fourth-largest handset vendor by shipments last quarter, according to research firm IDC - on Thursday held the global launch of its new Find X8 and Find X8 Pro in Bali, Indonesia.
The launch comes after a two-year hiatus for Oppo's flagship device outside mainland China, as the company seeks to challenge Apple and Samsung Electronics in the premium segment.
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"Branding and retail networks are at the core of the overseas competition of flagship products, and we have made substantial progress in the past two years that has given us confidence for the success of Find X8," Oppo overseas chief marketing officer Elvis Zhou said in a media briefing on Wednesday.
Oppo's premium Find X8 Pro smartphone. Photo: SCMP alt=Oppo's premium Find X8 Pro smartphone. Photo: SCMP>
Oppo's international push reflects how Chinese handset makers are ramping up efforts to reach more overseas consumers, as competition on the mainland - the world's largest smartphone market - continues to intensify with a resurgent Huawei Technologies, which has focused its handset business on the domestic market since being blacklisted by Washington.
The previous two Find X generations were only released in mainland China, as Oppo focused its overseas marketing on the foldable Find N handsets.
The Find X8 series features Oppo's latest artificial intelligence (AI) functions in photography, such as removing reflections for snapshots taken in front of a window and erasing unwanted objects.
The international version of the Find X8 series, which was first launched in China in October, works with Google's Gemini AI model to offer capabilities such as "Circle to Search", according to Oppo, which sponsored the South China Morning Post's trip to the global launch event.
"For Oppo to sustain overseas growth, the key is our 'glocal' strategy, as we need to understand the demand of local users globally to drive our products and services," said Zhou, using a portmanteau that refers to using global business strategies to address local needs.
Around 60 per cent of Oppo's shipments go to international markets, according to the company.
Xiaomi, the largest Chinese smartphone vendor globally, sold three out of four of its smartphones in international markets in the first half of this year, according to Counterpoint Research. Vivo's overseas sales accounted for half of its smartphone sales. Honor, a spin-off brand from Huawei, saw around a third of its sales coming from international markets.
A view of the central business district in Jakarta, capital of Indonesia. Photo: Shutterstock alt=A view of the central business district in Jakarta, capital of Indonesia. Photo: Shutterstock>
In Indonesia, the most populous country in Southeast Asia, Oppo has launched a series of localisation initiatives to win consumers. An Oppo-themed cafe is at the centre of its experience store in one of Jakarta's most upscale shopping malls, surrounded by bookshelves lining the walls. The cafe aims to attract customers to sit down with a drink, while trying out Oppo products from the display tables.
The company has also built its second-largest overseas factory in Indonesia, which manufactures all the smartphones it sells in the country, including the Find X8.
"The Indonesian market is our fastest-growing overseas market with a large scale and unquestionable diversity," Oppo vice-president Billy Zhang said after the launch event. "We have established very comprehensive capabilities in sales, marketing and production in the market. Here, we are just an Indonesian brand, not some international brand."
Oppo's efforts have been paying off in the country. It was the top-ranked smartphone vendor in Indonesia in the third quarter, making up 19 per cent of shipments, according to IDC. Oppo ranked ahead of Chinese rival Transsion and South Korean giant Samsung, each of which had 18 per cent of the market.
In terms of smartphone shipments for all of Southeast Asia, Oppo had an 18.1 per cent share of the regional market last quarter, edging ahead of Samsung, with an 18 per cent share, according to IDC. Transsion, Xiaomi and Vivo followed with 17 per cent, 14.9 per cent and 9.8 per cent, respectively.
Europe is another major market for Oppo. The company said it plans to aggressively step up efforts in the premium market segment there after resolving patent disputes with Finnish electronics giant Nokia and Sweden's Ericsson. The new Find X8 will also be available in major Western European countries, according to the company.
"We will launch a wide range of new products in Europe later and increase our investment in the market in various aspects," Zhou said.
The European smartphone market is currently dominated by Samsung and Apple, which captured 32 per cent and 24 per cent of sales in the second quarter, respectively, according to Counterpoint data.
