According to regulatory reports that were reviewed by a media house, Samsung, Xiaomi, and other smartphone manufacturers conspired with Amazon and Walmart’s Flipkart to debut goods only on the websites of the eCommerce businesses in India. This was done in violation of antitrust regulations.
Antitrust investigations carried out by the Competition Commission of India (CCI) have revealed that Amazon and Flipkart have violated local competition laws by giving preference to certain sellers, prioritizing certain listings, and steeply discounting products, thereby causing harm to other businesses. This information was reported by a well-known media outlet.
How Do Samsung, Xiaomi, Motorola, Realme, and Oneplus in Partnership With Flipkart and Amazon Violate the Norms?
In addition, the Competition Commission of India (CCI) stated in its 1,027-page report on Amazon that the Indian subsidiaries of five businesses, namely Samsung, Xiaomi, Motorola, Realme, and OnePlus, were “involved in the practice of exclusive” phone launches in “collusion” with Amazon and its affiliates, which is a violation of competition law.
In the case of Flipkart, a report by the Competition Commission of India (CCI) that was 1,696 pages long stated that the Indian units of Samsung, Xiaomi, Motorola, Vivo, Lenovo, and Realme engaged in comparable practices.
The involvement of smartphone manufacturers like as Samsung and Xiaomi in the lawsuit may provide them with additional challenges in terms of legal and regulatory compliance.
The concept of exclusivity in the economic world is repulsive. CCI’s additional director general G.V. Siva Prasad said in the Amazon and Flipkart investigations, in identical findings, that not only does it go against the principles of free and fair competition, but it also goes against the well-being of customers.
A particular media outlet noted in its special report that the CCI’s reports, which are dated August 9 and are not available to the public, have accused the smartphone companies of engaging in anticompetitive behavior.
What Next?
The CCI will examine any objections to its findings from Amazon, Flipkart, the retailer association, and the smartphone companies in the coming weeks. According to individuals familiar with the matter, the organization may impose fines and require the companies to modify their business practices.
The Indian retail industry has long held that online marketplaces like Amazon and Flipkart, as well as smartphone manufacturers, introduce new models of phones exclusively online. This has led to complaints from local businesses who claim they were unable to keep up with customer demand for new models and instead turned to online merchants.
Based on data analysis conducted by smartphone firms, both CCI reports concluded that exclusive releases had a significant impact on both online merchants and traditional brick-and-mortar stores that received mobile phones at a later period.
With this world of choices, Android phones were always welcomed and entertained within the population. It provides a bigger and variety of options to choose from, which are liked by a lot of people. But, what if two highly appreciated and popular brands, with an impressive selling range, combine and become the same.
To be precise, this is exactly what is going to happen in this newly modified android phone, by the merger of OnePlus and Oppo. The recent news that creates this buzz is that OnePlus is heading towards deeper integration with its overseas parent company, Oppo. And, there are several predicted jaw-dropping chances that this could shake up the Android smartphone industry’s landscape.
Before taking a deep insight into this actual cause, let’s understand what are the key factors which can get affected and mainly positively changed, by this merge. So, they are:
1. Production of better-quality product 2. Making potentially cheaper production 3. Creating faster and hassle-free products 4. Making variety of other devices
Oneplus merger with Oppo
Better Quality Production
OnePlus has achieved a lot of fame and reputation in recent years, since 2014, when it launched its first one. But now we can expect a bigger change in the production in the company, with the merger with Oppo.
However, the OnePlus CEO didn’t mention the word merge while announcing it, rather he mentioned it as, OnePlus has decided to further integrate their association with Oppo. But somehow, it also indicates that it is going to affect the production of the company. Now, it’s predictable that the lags and the troubles which the users of both companies faced are going to wave out. This will mark the beginning of a new revolutionary process.
On the other note, they did also mention that, both the brands would be also working independently and singularly, creating their products, so we can expect both the companies to continue releasing phones.
Cheaper Products
Although OnePlus has given quite a difficult chase with the other smartphone brands, it has been an economical problem with the OnePlus. Like, other flagship phones are providing an ample amount of facilities, with a variety of choices, and now, OnePlus is initiating higher price money, to provide the same facility.
But with the merger with Oppo, it is quite clear that there will be a decrease in these products and they will be available at affordable prices. While indirectly will create a little more tension between other competitors, as by quality there is nothing to point a finger on the OnePlus flagship phones.
Faster and Hassle-free Products
With the ‘voice charging facility initiated in 2017, Oppo has a quite fair reputation of providing a faster charging facility with a huge amount of battery within it. Not only this but giving regular and fast software updates is also a primary feature in the Oppo UI smartphones. But, there is a little lack of this sincerity in the Oxygen OS, which is used in the OnePlus smartphones.
As the Oppo smartphones use Color OS, there is also a huge chance of software overlay with the same on the OnePlus smartphones too. However, it is not announced yet, but it is quite possible that the Oxygen OS, which is used in the OnePlus smartphones, may potentially switch to Color OS, which Oppo uses. At this point, this prediction is not that sure, but if this takes place, then this would have a huge impact on the Android industry landscape.
We are predicting this because, already in China, the OnePlus 9 range has started using the Color OS, and it’s not that far to get implemented by the merging later on. Alternatively, it can also be like the two interfaces may become more similar and maybe nothing great would change, and if anything changes, it would be a very subtle variation.
But it is quite sure that it would help improve OnePlus’s efficiency, the software updates would be arriving faster with the Color OS, and whenever they would come, they would not be the experimental beta versions, rather they would be more stable and fascinating.
Expansion in Variety of Products
OnePlus-Oppo Products
Getting the facts right, if anyone looks into it thoroughly, then it is easy to know that both OnePlus and Oppo are the subsidiaries of BBK electronics. Hence, they do already have a link. But this merger is going to begin an overseeing product strategy for both companies.
Oppo is not only producing smartphones, but also has a quite good hand in producing earbuds, earphones, smartwatches, fitness trackers, and other accessories too. So, this might help OnePlus in expanding its range from producing only smartphone and Bluetooth headsets to all these additional accessories.
Adding to that, we can also get a chance to see OnePlus making smartphones with faster-charging facilities, as Oppo has a giant gaze and experience in that field. With that, there is also a chance to create foldable and rollable OnePlus phones, as Oppo has already started experimenting with these super flexible devices.
Other Possible Impacts
Hence, there are the positive as well as not so positive impacts of the merger of OnePlus and Oppo, and the users can expect:
Frequent and stable software updates.
Interesting and new variable features.
Fast charging in the OnePlus phones like Oppo’s VOOC flash charge.
Slash in the prices of the OnePlus smartphones.
New and efficient different quality products from the brands, beyond smartphones.
Therefore, this might not seem like a very massive shift, but it’s almost sure to have some changes, and mostly they would come out as positives. This would somehow allow the two brands to streamline their operations and then capitalize them in the additional shared resources.
But whatsoever it’s a move that will align more with a company that will be looking to move more phones frequently, rather than just maintain exclusivity. Hence, this is quite a good development for the industry but it would create a little more tension and traffic within the industry as well.
FAQs
Has Oneplus merged with Oppo?
OnePlus has finally made its merger with Oppo and announced it publicly.
Is Oneplus and Oppo products of BBK Electronics?
OnePlus and Oppo are the subsidiaries of BBK electronics.
Which Operating system does Oppo uses?
ColorOS is a mobile operating system created by OPPO.
Which Operating system does OnePlus uses?
OxygenOS is an Android-based OS developed by OnePlus.
For a long time there has been this general belief that there is no Android phone that can compete with the Apple Models based on quality, this is what OnePlus aimed to change ever since its formation. OnePlus Technology (Shenzen) Co., ltd simply referred to as OnePlus, is a Chinese smartphone and electronics manufacturer based in Shenzen, Guangdong, founded by Pete Lau (CEO) and Carl Pei (Drector) in December 2013.
As of February 2020, OnePlus is the top selling premium smartphone brand in India holding 33% of the total market share. Apart from smartphones, OnePlus also deals in other devices like earphones, chargers and Smart Television sets in over 340 countries. The story behind the formation and the motivation of the brand is a fascinating.
Here’s a thoroughly studied OnePlus Case Study that’s going to clear every doubt that you might have in your mind regarding OnePlus.
As mentioned OnePlus was co founded by Pete Lau and Carl Pei. At that time, Lau was the Vice President of OPPO and Pei was OPPO’s Global Marketing and E-Commerce Division Head.
OnePlus Founders
While they were visiting a Café with their colleagues from OPPO, they noticed that all of them were using Apple smartphones, the reason behind this was the common belief that Android phones were concerned with market share more than the quality of their products. They put forward the concept that based on product quality, there was no “second best” to Apple.
This is where OnePlus’s motto “Never Settle” originates from as it provides better options for the android users instead for settling for something lesser.
Having determined the need of a premium android smartphone line, the company then had to decide what features were to be implemented in their product lines. Their primary focus throughout the manufacturing process was on quality.
As Lau said “we will never be different just for the sake of being different.”
So the OnePlus production does not focuses on a ‘brand new concept that has never been seen before’ instead it gives more emphasis on improving the actual user experience in day to day life.
The first product of OnePlus was the highly awaited OnePlus One which was unveiled just 4 months after the company started on 22 April 2014. The model received a positive reception from the general audience.
Despite being about half the price of the other competitors, it performed on the same level and even higher. Although there were some technical faults and lower camera quality due to the low cost, it performed very well despite having a lesser availability than its closest competitor in the Nexus series.
It surpassed the expected limits and set a staple for the company upon which the further models were improvised. The later models of the smartphone included improvements on the previous models and received positive reception.
The company also introduced the T series starting from OnePlus 3 until 7 and the Pro Series starting from OnePlus 7 to 8. These models were limited edition variants to the core series designed for luxury users.
By 2020, OnePlus became the top selling smartphone brand in India. Some of the features that appealed to the masses were unique and handy build, continuous improvement in camera quality with every new model and an affordable price.
The company also announced its intention to venture into the Smart Television market in September 2018 starting with OnePlus Tv Q1 and the OnePlus TV U series.
Wireless chargers were introduced along with OnePlus 8 series and the wireless earphones, OnePlus bullets with the OnePlus 6 series.
In every product line, OnePlus puts product quality and affordability first all the while appealing to the different sections of the audience.
The pricing strategy of OnePlus focuses on the customers seeking high quality features in smartphones and other devices without spending too much into it.
Therefore, the company focuses on high quality manufacturing and a relatively low margin of profit, opting to utilize its savings in order to make the products available and affordable to more people around the world.
However, different countries have different prices depending upon various factors.
OnePlus Business Strategy In India
Over the years of its operation, OnePlus has used many innovative models and campaigns for the promotion of its products. The following are some of the popular promotional strategies and campaigns implemented by OnePlus,
Invite Only System
In order to manage the huge demand in the initial stages of its operation, OnePlus used an Invitation System, where the customers had to sign up for the purchase of OnePlus One at irregular intervals, they ended the Invitation System with the launch of OnePlus 3 which went on sale on an interactive VR (Virtual Reality) platform. OnePlus dubbed the event as world’s first ever VR Shopping Experience.
OnePlus started the Smash the Past campaign on 23 April 2014. As the name suggests, it invited a selected group of customers to smash their old phone in an effort to purchase the OnePlus One for just $1. However, this campaign didn’t work as planned because uninvited customers also started to smash their phones in videos that surfaced online and threatened the reputation of the company. As a result of this, OnePlus revised the rules thereby allowing the invited users to donate their old phones instead of smashing them. There were 140000 users and 100 were selected.
Ladies First Campaign
On August 13 2014, OnePlus started the controversial Ladies first Campaign, it involved handing the elusive invites to the female forum members first. The selection will be based upon the likes on their pictures with the logo of the OnePlus brand, however this received major backlash from the community and was pulled within hours of its launch.
Brand Ambassadors
OnePlus hired Bollywood legend Amitabh Bachchan as a Brand Ambassador for their promotion in India. And in May 2019 they hired Robert Downey Jr. for the said role.
Slowly but surely, OnePlus is becoming a household name in the smartphone market along with established brands like OPPO and Samsung especially in India.
However, due to the recent events that have strained the relationship between India and China that resulted in banning of various Chinese apps and products in India, the brand of OnePlus may be unaffected but the employment in its Indian stores may dwindle in the near future.
Frequently Asked Questions About OnePlus
How did OnePlus one start?
OnePlus Technology (Shenzen) Co., ltd simply referred to as OnePlus, is a Chinese smartphone and electronics manufacturer based in Shenzen, Guangdong, founded by Pete Lau (CEO) and Carl Pei (Drector) in December 2013.
While they were visiting a Café with their colleagues from OPPO, they noticed that all of them were using Apple smartphones, the reason behind this was the common belief that Android phones were concerned with market share more than the quality of their products. They put forward the concept that based on product quality, there was no “second best” to Apple.
This is where OnePlus’s motto “Never Settle” originates from as it provides better options for the android users instead for settling for something lesser.
Who invented OnePlus?
OnePlus Technology (Shenzen) Co., ltd simply referred to as OnePlus, is a Chinese smartphone and electronics manufacturer based in Shenzen, Guangdong, founded by Pete Lau (CEO) and Carl Pei (Director) in December 2013.
What is OnePlus’ Startup Story?
For a long time there has been this general belief that there is no Android phone that can compete with the Apple Models based on quality, this is what OnePlus aimed to change ever since its formation. OnePlus Technology (Shenzen) Co., ltd simply referred to as OnePlus, is a Chinese smartphone and electronics manufacturer based in Shenzen, Guangdong, founded by Pete Lau (CEO) and Carl Pei (Director) in December 2013.
What is Oneplus’ business strategy?
Over the years of its operation, OnePlus has used many innovative models and campaigns for the promotion of its products. The following are some of the popular promotional strategies and campaigns implemented by OnePlus,
Invite Only System
Smash The Past – OnePlus started the Smash the Past campaign on 23 April 2014. As the name suggests, it invited a selected group of customers to smash their old phone in an effort to purchase the OnePlus One for just $1.
Ladies First Campaign – On August 13 2014, OnePlus started the controversial Ladies first Campaign, it involved handing the elusive invites to the female forum members first.
Brand Ambassadors – OnePlus hired Bollywood legend Amitabh Bachchan as a Brand Ambassador for their promotion in India.
In this time of pandemic, China is pushing borders against India and other neighboring countries.China has a powerful and bigger weapon and that is Economy and that is why China is getting political. China is using its economy to dominate our neighbouring countries and thus it is becoming a superpower.
It is the worst time for India to go on a war as our economy is down and this war couldn’t be won by money as China has its allies around us. It is helping our neighbouring countries in infrastructure and other projects but if no one uses them, it becomes difficult for these countries to pay back China. China also overstates his own bills and there comes China again and asks to handle the operations and takes control over these infrastructures so that it can use these bases as military base in times of war and be prepared. In case, the war is held, it will be from all the sides as we are surrounded by China’s allies. China has a military base in Africa and it is using it to threaten U.S. However, India is taking serious precautions to make China realise that it will impact their economy as well.
Although this is not for the first time as the supporting stand of China towards Pakistan pot URI attack also led to a campaign to boycott Chinese products in India. However, this time, many social media influencers are coming up with several reasons to boycott Chinese products to spread awareness among Indian citizens. I would like to share some YouTube links which are helpful to understand the agenda of China for using Economy as a weapon against India:- SonamWangchuk
Baba Ramdev
These videos will also help in understanding the reasons to boycott Chinese products. There are many alternatives available for the Chinese apps and if we start using these alternative apps instead of the Chinese apps, it will affect the economy of China. As India is the biggest importer of Chinese goods and trade deficit of India with China is one of the biggest between two trading partners. A boycott is only possible if we start using alternatives from other countries or we become self-reliance as our honorable Prime minister wanted to say and import substitution can be done. If we will be able to boycott Chinese products completely then China will be in a situation where he will need to think twice before waging a war against any neighbouring countries. Our country now needs to manufacture products which are ‘Made in India’ but are ‘Made for the world’.
Here are some examples, how Indians are totally depend on Chinese apps and using them continuously and on daily basis and these apps are the reason behind the growth of Chinese Economy:
According to facts provided by some news and personals, China is using the data from the Chinese invested apps and Chinese apps to gain information and also some information have been hacked by China through these apps as well.Recently a person from Vadodara Twitter account was hacked and the access point were seen as China. He stated that his account was synced with Pubg mobile and that might be the reason of hacking. China is a stakeholder in the company Tencent which has developed Pubg. Now this becomes more important to boycott these Chinese apps, to protect your data and information and also in order to support India so that China’s biggest weapon can be used against them.
India is also trying their best to deal with China and make them taste their own medicine. They have reviewed the FDI so that Indian can’t Chinese puppet like our neighbouring countries. We are late but we are not in China’s trap and we have learnt the truth about China’s economy.
Vocal For Local campaign
Prime Minister Modi in his address to the nation on May 12, 2020 launched a ‘VOCAL FOR LOCAL‘ campaign. He urged the citizens of India to buy and promote local goods and brands. The Prime Minister further said that global brands were once local but when people started supporting them they went global.
It is known that India and China are the two fastest growing economies in the world and India is the largest importer of Chinese goods and services in the world.
The trade deficit between India and China is the largest among the major trading partners. It is interesting to note that India imports about seven times more from China than it exports. India imports more than $ 50 billion worth of goods from China and exports $ 2.5 billion worth of goods to China.
It is a known fact that Chinese products are very cheap compared to their Indian counterparts. In addition, the Chinese government also provides subsidies to its exporters. India spends around 9% on transportation, energy etc., but this cost is nil by the import duty imposed on China by India. To avoid import duties, many Chinese companies use trans-shipment routes — sending goods to Bhutan and then India.
Globalization has spread its roots so deep in our lives and the supply chain is so interconnected, the productions process is so complex that it is difficult to isolate one country and boycott it’s goods completely but as Mr. Sonam Wangchuk mentioned, systematic and phased boycott is possible. We can starts from stop using the Chinese software in a week and hardware in a year. We need to constantly make efforts to ease the business environment in India and bring out labour reforms and look for less expensive alternatives which will take time but it is the time to make some uncommon decisions that will impact our lives and will help Indian Economy and will impact Chinese Economy as well.
The Confederation of All-India Traders (CAIT)
CAIT
A traders’ organization, on Sunday expressed solidarity with the Ladakh-based educational reformer and visionary Sonam Wangchuk’s appeal to boycott Chinese goods. Tension between India and China, the man who inspired Bollywood blockbuster “3 Idiots”, has appealed and asked Indians to boycott all Chinese companies. In a tweet, the engineer-turned-education reformer asked people to boycott all Chinese products in Ladakh to stop Beijing’s “bullying” and to free 1.4 billion bonded labourers in the country.
CAIT, which claims to represent seven crore merchants, said it had identified around 3,000 categories of heavily imported Chinese products “which should be immediately replaced by Indian products as good quality for such products Indian replacements are available “
CAN INDIA REALLY BOYCOTT CHINESE PRODUCTS
India imports many raw materials as well as finished products like steel, minerals etc. from China. When it comes to boycott imports from China, this can only be done in the case of finished goods but the import of raw materials from China cannot be stopped.
India also imports consumer durable like electrical appliances, mobile phones, cars etc. Medicinal drugs like leprosy, antibiotics etc. from China. In addition, the Chinese smartphone market accounts for $ 8 billion of India’s smartphone market (Lenovo, Oppo, Vivo, etc.). If India planned to boycott Chinese products, India’s GDP would fall drastically.
After the launch of ‘Make in India‘ campaign by Prime Minister Modi, many Chinese companies have set up their units in India, employing hundreds of thousands of workers in India. If India boycott Chinese products, these companies may face pressure from Chinese authorities to stop their production in India, leaving hundreds of workers unemployed.
As mentioned above, India imports about seven times more from China than its exports. If India plans to boycott Chinese products than find an alternative that can match the cost and availability is almost impossible. Thus, India’s GDP can be contracted.
5- It is interesting to note that almost every product we use has a little bit of China. Smartphones, laptops, air conditioners, etc. which we use in our daily life, some parts are manufactured in China.
We must understand that the present process of manufacturing is interlinked. For example, a phone is made with the help of Chinese laborers and land, investment from a different country says that the US has made an innovation from Japan and can end the Made in India apps. Every product has the same process when it comes to labor, investment, innovation, etc. Thus, it can be concluded that each nation cannot be separated nor its good can be boycotted.
Many countries in the world started boycotting products from various countries, but were unsuccessful due to the complex manufacturing process. Some of them are listed below:
1- In 1930, China tried to boycott all Japanese products to protest against the Japanese colony, but failed.
2- In 2003, the US attempted to boycott French goods after 9/11 in protest of France’s refusal to send troops to Iraq but then failed.
SO IS THERE ANY ALTERNATIVE?
Sonam Wangchuk
Recently, Sonam Wangchuk answered several questions on the boycott of Chinese products. He said that the customer is king. This means that consumers should stop using Chinese products. He chanted a boycott of China’s software in a week, hardware in a year, finished and non-essential products in a year, and systemic boycott of essential products, raw materials, etc. in the coming years.
We can also implement the import-substitution method in India to boycott Chinese products. This means that the products we import from China can be manufactured in India, but in the short term this is impossible.
The Indian government should reduce the rates at which loans are issued to Indian companies like China. In addition, the government should provide infrastructure, services, etc. to prepare Indian companies to compete with China. India may boycott Made in China products but in a systematic and planned manner as stated by Sonam Wangchuk.
Nitin Konde
