BBK Electronics Strategy – Oppo, Vivo, OnePlus, Realme, iQOO

BBK Electronics Case Study

Which is the leading smartphone selling company in India? Will you believe me if I tell you that it is the parent company of Oppo, Vivo, OnePlus, Realme, iQOO? The main culprit is the BBK Electronics Strategy.

“What? But Pritesh, you told us some days back that Xiaomi is the number one smartphone brand in India. Then how did this happen?”

[In case you missed it: How Xiaomi Became #1 Smartphone Brand in India]

“And what the hell is this BBK Electronics? I have never heard about it and you are telling me that is the leading smartphone selling brand in India.”

Well, well, well. Calm down! Let’s see how it is working out here.

Twist to the story: BBK Electronics is the parent company of Oppo, Vivo, OnePlus, Realme and now also iQOO.

If you sum up all of these 5 brands then you will find that the resultant market share of BBK Electronics is much more than Xiaomi in India.

According to the recent reports, BBK Electronics has the largest share in India if we combine all the brands.

Xiaomi + POCO = 30%

BBK Electronics = Vivo + Oppo + OnePlus + Realme = 17% + 12% + 2% + 14% = 45%

But what is BBK and why is it operating 5 different companies?

The strategy of BBK Electronics with Oppo, Vivo, OnePlus, Realme, iQOO

BBK Electronics owns 5 brands - Oppo, Vivo, OnePlus, Realme & iQOO

History of BBK Electronics

If we start from the origin of this company then BBK is a Chinese company that used to make stuff related to music.

Initially, they started with educational platforms but it didn’t work out. Hence, it had to shut down.

Oppo revived itself and started in the music industry with a full swing. They made all the products related to the music industry such as DVDs, headphones, speakers, etc.

Everything was going fine when suddenly BBK Electronics faced massive legal cases for piracy charges. It almost went bankrupt.

That is when BBK Electronics decided to split all its businesses into multiple segments.

So that if one of the child companies bankrupts or faces any legal actions, BBK will remain unaffected.

That is where Oppo and Vivo took birth.

Even if you look at the tagline now, Oppo calls itself as ‘Oppo Camera’ and Vivo calls itself as ‘Vivo Camera and Music’.

That is where Vivo got its music expertise label because BBK was damn good at music production.

Push Marketing Strategy – BBK Electronics with Oppo and Vivo

BBK Electronics Strategy is Push Marketing Strategy for Oppo and Vivo

Oppo-Vivo work on Push Marketing Strategy. If some MBA student is reading this, he/she might relate with this.

When a company makes a lot of efforts to push its product in the market then it is called Push Marketing Strategy.

It is a belief in the market that Oppo and Vivo sell their smartphones at a much higher rate than the quality that they offer.

Well, it is pretty obvious after looking at their business models. The majority of their budget goes into marketing and creating brand awareness.

Sponsorships and Money Flow

  1. Hoardings in every nook and corner of India
  2. Cricket and Football sponsorships
  3. Various online events like PUBG tournaments
  4. Buying the complete Ad Spaces in public places like Ghatkopar in Mumbai
Oppo Vivo Push Marketing Strategy

Also, it is rumored that Oppo and Vivo pay their shopkeepers with the highest margin in the market which is around 20% of the sale. Meanwhile, other brands are merely giving them a commission of 5-10%.

That is the reason why shopkeepers insist you to buy these smartphones by telling you that this is the best smartphone brand. The game is with higher margins.

So, where will this money come from? From you, the customers of Oppo and Vivo.

That is the reason why Oppo and Vivo phones are not valued for money.

Mid 2018: Now the game turns after a few years of brand awareness.

The unlimited Oppo and Vivo hoardings disappeared suddenly. Vivo and Oppo heavily started bringing innovations in the market.

This was a long played strategy by BBK Electronics that is absolutely great.

Create brand awareness first, then sell the products in the name of innovation.

People love such brands that become saints after their sinful journey.

Pull Marketing Strategy – BBK Electronics with OnePlus and Realme

BBK Electronics Strategy is Pull Marketing Strategy for OnePlus and Realme

OnePlus and Realme both the companies work on Pull Marketing Strategy where no efforts are made to attract customers. Your work speaks louder than ads.

While BBK Electronics was making it look as if Oppo and Vivo are fighting among themselves, it quietly launched OnePlus.

OnePlus had a totally opposite strategy as compared to its sibling brands.

  1. No ads
  2. Zero commission for offline retailers because all OnePlus phones were available exclusively on online stores
  3. No sponsorships

The only marketing funda here was word of mouth publicity. As a result of cost-cutting, BBK managed to provide OnePlus phones at a killer price. That’s how OnePlus became a flagship killer smartphone.

The same strategy is working upon Realme.

In one of my blogs, I have mentioned why Realme was formed in the first place. In case you have missed it, here is the link:

[Read it: Why Xiaomi launched POCO? Brand War – Xiaomi vs BBK]

Realme is also busy in offering the best value to kill the competitors now because it has no extra costs of marketing now. It is only focusing on quality.

However, once people start loving it and trusting it then it will hike its price exponentially. That will be working similar to OnePlus.

In fact, Realme has already started following the steps of OnePlus with the launch of Reame XT.

Oppo, Vivo, OnePlus, and Realme are all slowly changing their Business Models.

1] OnePlus

There was a time when OnePlus came with a minimal price range and anyone could afford it easily. It was the time when OnePlus spend zero amounts on advertisements.

One Plus 3 changed its game altogether when it started advertising online. The prices started rising.

Finally, the flagship killer became a premium brand now.

And guess what?

OnePlus Grabbed #1 Position in India’s Premium Smartphone Market: Gadgets NDTV

2] Realme

In the upcoming years, Realme will start making premium phones as well. Note it down.

It has already started selling smartphones under ‘flagship killer’ category. That day is not far when Realme will become another flagship smartphone like its sibling OnePlus.

If you want to try out Realme then do it now.

3] IQOO

IQOO was launched in India in August 2019.

It recently launched its smartphone after coming to India. Its primary focus has been the flagship smartphone segment.

Although this brand has been quite popular out of India, it has not managed to show the influence yet. Let’s see how it performs in India.

4] Oppo and Vivo

Let’s not talk about the price range but the innovations. I personally feel that Vivo is the most innovative brand right now.

A) Vivo NEX was the first truly bezel-less smartphone with a pop-up selfie camera followed by Oppo Find X.

Oppo Find X & Vivo NEX

B) Vivo was the first brand to introduce an in-display fingerprint scanner with its Chinese model Vivo X20 Plus UD.

Vivo X20 Plus UD

C) Oppo is one of the first companies to demonstrate the in-display front camera in a smartphone. That means you won’t be able to see the front camera because it is well hidden under the display.

Check out this teaser by Oppo.

D) Oppo and Vivo come with the fastest charging technology called super VOOC and Superflash technology.

Technically, both are the same things but marketed differently.

[TheVerge Report: Oppo announces 125W tech that charges phones in 20 minutes]

These things are not even the tip of what these brands are doing. I have just mentioned a few things.

Looking For Tech Startups That Match Your Interests?

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

What is the full form of BBK Electronics?

BBK Electronics is a Chinese brand that stands for Guangdong Bu Bu Gao Electronics Industrial Private Ltd.
That difference is due to the literal translation from Chinese to English.

Is Xiaomi owned by BBK?

No. Xiaomi is owned by Xiaomi Corporation and it is a separate company.

Who is the owner of BBK Electronics?

Duan Yongping is the owner of BBK Electronics.
On 28 August 1995, Duan resigned from Subor and founded BBK Electronics.

Is Oppo and Vivo same company?

Although it seems that Oppo and Vivo are competing against each other, the fact is that it is owned by a single company called BBK Electronics.

Why Oppo and Vivo are same company?

BBK Electronics faced massive legal cases for piracy charges and almost went bankrupt. That is when BBK Electronics decided to split all its businesses into multiple segments. So that if one of the child companies bankrupts or faces any legal actions, BBK will remain unaffected.

Who is the owner of Oppo mobile company?

Oppo smartphone brand is owned by BBK Electronics.
It was founded in 2004 as Guangdong OPPO Mobile Telecommunications Corp. Ltd.

Who is the owner of Vivo mobile?

Vivo smartphone brand is owned by BBK Electronics.
It was founded in 2009 as Vivo Communication Technology Co. Ltd.

Who is OnePlus owned by?

OnePlus smartphone brand is owned by BBK Electronics.
Oppo vice president Pete Lau and co-founder Carl Pei launched OnePlus smartphone brand in 2013 under the name One Plus Technology Co. Ltd.

Is Realme an Indian company?

No. BBK Electronics is the owner of Realme and it is a Chinese smartphone company based in Shenzen, Guangdong. It started working as a sub-brand of Oppo from 2018.

Which company owns iQOO?

iQOO is a sub-brand of Vivo company which is again a sub-brand of BBK Electronics. So, BBK Electronics owns iQOO. It started working as a sub-brand from 2019.

Conclusion

BBK Electronics is the number one smartphone selling brand which most of the people don’t even know.

Oppo and Vivo play in mid-range for now. They have a business model that runs on excessive advertising. We call it a Push Marketing strategy.

One Plus and iQOO are now playing under the premium smartphone category whereas Realme is still in the budget range. They have a different business model altogether that runs on minimal marketing. We even call it a Pull Marketing strategy.

Looking for the best gadget for yourself?

Check out: Buyer’s Guide

P2

Sharing Knowledge Makes You Look Cool

20 thoughts on “BBK Electronics Strategy – Oppo, Vivo, OnePlus, Realme, iQOO”

  1. Great content! I too study the BBK Electronics myself but it’s hard to grasp the whole picture…Thank you for summarising the business and how they use brands to target each consumer.

    Just out of curiosity, how did you research this company?? If you can, please let me know by replying to my email address!

  2. Good day! This post could not be written any better!
    Reading this post reminds me of my previous room mate!
    He always kept chatting about this. I will forward this write-up
    to him. Fairly certain he will have a good read. Thank you for sharing!

  3. This is the right blog for anyone who wants to find out about this topic. You realize so much its almost hard to argue with you (not that I actually would want…HaHa). You definitely put a new spin on a topic thats been written about for years. Great stuff, just great!

  4. I jazz a wordpress diary with a lot of pictures hosted on 3rd recipient websites. I need all the pictures to be hosted in my wordpress blogs. I don’t essential to manually download all pictures and set them in the posts, i status something to do that automatically..

  5. Shubham Mudholkar

    Thanks Pritesh For Sharing Amazing Information With Us. Heartly Thank You 💯😎✌

Comments are closed.

Scroll to Top