The Chinese in Russia: typical mistakes when entering the smartphone market on the example of Oppo and Vivo
New major manufacturers of smartphones on the Russian market come extremely rare. This is understandable: the market has long been divided, there is some kind of yard, but the crisis, and the Russians have long had a clear understanding of which manufacturers should be trusted. New little-known names in our latitudes are perceived as so-so. Without enthusiasm. With a poorly hidden ... well, if not with contempt, then with a strong distrust - for sure. Especially if we are talking about brands that offer not some cheap devices, but something from the category of "10 thousand rubles and more."
Therefore, the only way to succeed for new players in the smartphone market in Russia is to put a price down. Do not even push, and press. Yes, it is not easy. And at first, some companies even have to sell devices to zero. That is finally without profit. But this makes it possible to introduce the broad masses with their products, to gain a certain image and get at least some noticeable market share.
And now let's see what happened in the fall of 2017.
Two new major smartphone manufacturers came to Russia at once. This is not about some nameless Chinese brands with unpredictable names, but, for a moment, Oppo and Vivo. If anyone does not know, these are truly gigantic and far from poor companies. Both are part of the Chinese holding BBK. By the end of 2016, Oppo became the leader of the Chinese smartphone market, shutting Huawei, Samsung, Apple and so on in the list.
However, leadership in China does not mean the ability to understand and feel other markets - in particular, Russian. With Oppo, that Vivo held glamorous pretentious presentations in Moscow. Oppo even made his face Yegor Creed, who is now fiercely furious, you know what kind of smartphones. Shortly before this, he also forked Samsung, and now he pours oil on Oppo, posting the corresponding photos on Twitter from the iPhone ( more here ).
It would seem, where is his creed? His photos from the iPhone serve as a kind of prelude to that trash fag, which accompanies Oppo and Vivo's entry into the Russian market. Because smartphones of both these brands will be sold through ... large federal retail. With its horse wraps in the amount of 30-40 percent, about which sad legends have long been composed. Actually, federal retail is the most terrible, inconsistent, dead-end path for bringing a new, not cheap (key moment!) Brand of smartphones to the Russian market. Because: such a brand has no name yet, its image charge is zero, people don’t know it; At the same time, attracting buyers at the price will not work out well, simply because of those horse cheats. Which do not even add to the price of a smartphone in China, but to the price of a smartphone after crossing the Russian border - after paying VAT (+ 18%), Mikhalkov's fee (+ 1%) and other overhead costs associated with the official import of electronics across the Russian border. As a result, the price, as compared with the factory, grows after customs clearance and “federals” markups, if not twice, then by one and a half - for sure. As a result, we see the following picture: Oppo smartphones of the average level, for which the red price is 15 thousand rubles, are on the shelf of some Svyaznoy for 25 thousand. A similar situation with models Vivo - the cheapest on the shelf of the federal retail estimated at 22 thousand. Offering a cheap HD screen! Again: such a smartphone can cost 10-12 thousand, but certainly not 22.
Vivo V7 with HD-screen for 22 thousand rubles. Earlier, only Apple could afford to sell smartphones with such displays for a lot of money. And now vivo. But what is allowed by Apple is unrealistic in the case of Chinese players with products of absolutely average properties and qualities.
What is the result? The story will surely repeat. Oppo in 2013 already came to Russia - and exactly according to the same scheme: with the pomp of meaningless cool presentations, a lot of pathos in advertising. And with horse price tags in sales channels in the form of a large federal retail. And about a year later, it logically flew out of the market. It seems that already in 2018 (maximum - in 2019), the Oppo company will leave us again. Together with my sister Vivo.
Did Oppo and Vivo have an alternative? Of course it was. Instead of the archaic federal retail scheme, it was possible to use Internet sales, as all “normal” Chinese do. For starters - the same AliExpress. Or at least combine these options. That is what the Chinese Doogee, for example, does. Its flagship smartphones can be found including in the federal retail. It is understandable: no one counts on big sales of these models, it’s just, let's say, a demonstration of possibilities. For these purposes, AvtoVAZ produced the Lada with leather interior and two-liter Opel engines in due time - it is clear that this is a piece and no one really needs a product, but it allows you to declare yourself as a more serious manufacturer. And inexpensive Doogee models, in turn, are available on AliExpress. Due to this, the highest possible price reduction is achieved. Suffice it to say that on AliExpress for 7 thousand rubles you can buy a Doogee model with a double rear camera, a metal case, a fingerprint scanner. And the most important thing (which is not present in Oppo, nor in Vivo, nor even in Meizu and Xiaomi) - with protection against water (standard IP68) and impacts.
Of all the above in the same Vivo V7, which is offered in Russia, there is only a scanner. There is no protection against water, metal, and a dual chamber — and this is at a price of 22 thousand rubles! At Oppo - the same thing (that is, there is nothing), only at a price of 25 thousand. But sweet-voiced Yegor Creed sang on a press, yeah. And buyers of Oppo smartphones will pay for his singing - in fact, the cost of marketing is somehow embedded in the price of the devices.
Doogee S30 for 7 thousand rubles for "Ali". Dual camera, fingerprint scanner and even protection against water and shock - and all this for 7 thousand. With warranty and certification in Russia - everything is as it should be
Would you say that Oppo and Vivo can equally well be bought on AliExpress? Oppo for unknown reasons on this site is missing, and some models of vivo - yes, you can. In non-certified and non-Russian form, and even without warranty. The same Doogee warranty in this case - when buying on AliExpress - gives. And it offers there certified devices.
For some time, from mid-December 2017, Xiaomi has been doing the same. This manufacturer is tired of working with a Russian distributor and federal retail. Prices are such that the conquest of the market goes at a snail's pace. Is it a matter of direct sales through "Ali": a certified Xiaomi Redmi 5A with a guarantee there for the shares cost less than 6 thousand rubles (now - just over 6 thousand rubles). In the federal retail it would sell thousands for 9. That is very expensive: there is no metal and a fingerprint scanner in this model, protection from water and strikes is also not necessary, and it will have to compete with the same Doogee protected models, where all this is available. At the same price, Xiaomi can theoretically take the brand by force, and at half the higher price, the meaning of buying a Xiaomi smartphone is completely lost.
The official Russian Xiaomi Redmi 5A with a guarantee costs 6,200 rubles on Ali. And in offline retail would be worth half as much
For example - a comparison of Xiaomi and Doogee cost around 7 thousand rubles with Vivo for 22 thousand. Draw conclusions. The main parameters of Vivo merges, in some wins, but this does not justify three times (!) The higher price.
Well, another example. In the fall, the German AGM brand quietly entered the Russian market without a pomp - it sells civilian versions of protected military smartphones, originally created for the Bundeswehr, under it. Sales - again only through AliExpress. AGM smartphones are very sophisticated, with original Samsung AMOLED screens, good cameras, decent Qualcomm hardware (and not buggy MediaTek energy eaters), and even air pollution sensors. On AliExpress, we managed to put a price tag on them in the region of 30 thousand rubles. If sales went through federal retail, there would be 45 thousand. And then all 50.
VOC sensor operation in AGM X2. This smartphone is a piece of goods, expensive and designed for special connoisseurs, and yet the competent choice of the sales channel has made it possible not to raise the price to quite an indecent level.
And again, just to understand the degree of trash-ingame - comparing AGM X2 with Oppo F5 6Gb. Both are "thirty", but the first is offered on "Ali", the second - in the official federal retail. At Oppo, only the front camera is steeper, which is important except for the audience of the level “fans of Yegor Creed and his boss Timati”.
In a word, the times have changed, and Oppo and Vivo, who bathed in their greatness in the Chinese market, did not notice this. And in Russia they are waiting for them ... yes, a fiasco is waiting for them - unless, of course, they urgently change the approach to the "conquest" of our market. Do not change - there will be bits. And from two sides: in the lower segment - small, impudent Gopniki like Doogee, and in the upper one - more serious and technically advanced brands like AGM. Although they do not invite to their pretentious presentations of fashionable singers with their mouths in the form of fake ambassadors, they sell more functional and more interesting models in every sense. And most importantly - two to three times cheaper. Such are the current market realities. Paphos nobody else appreciates.
Therefore, the only way to succeed for new players in the smartphone market in Russia is to put a price down. Do not even push, and press. Yes, it is not easy. And at first, some companies even have to sell devices to zero. That is finally without profit. But this makes it possible to introduce the broad masses with their products, to gain a certain image and get at least some noticeable market share.
And now let's see what happened in the fall of 2017.
Two new major smartphone manufacturers came to Russia at once. This is not about some nameless Chinese brands with unpredictable names, but, for a moment, Oppo and Vivo. If anyone does not know, these are truly gigantic and far from poor companies. Both are part of the Chinese holding BBK. By the end of 2016, Oppo became the leader of the Chinese smartphone market, shutting Huawei, Samsung, Apple and so on in the list.
However, leadership in China does not mean the ability to understand and feel other markets - in particular, Russian. With Oppo, that Vivo held glamorous pretentious presentations in Moscow. Oppo even made his face Yegor Creed, who is now fiercely furious, you know what kind of smartphones. Shortly before this, he also forked Samsung, and now he pours oil on Oppo, posting the corresponding photos on Twitter from the iPhone ( more here ).
It would seem, where is his creed? His photos from the iPhone serve as a kind of prelude to that trash fag, which accompanies Oppo and Vivo's entry into the Russian market. Because smartphones of both these brands will be sold through ... large federal retail. With its horse wraps in the amount of 30-40 percent, about which sad legends have long been composed. Actually, federal retail is the most terrible, inconsistent, dead-end path for bringing a new, not cheap (key moment!) Brand of smartphones to the Russian market. Because: such a brand has no name yet, its image charge is zero, people don’t know it; At the same time, attracting buyers at the price will not work out well, simply because of those horse cheats. Which do not even add to the price of a smartphone in China, but to the price of a smartphone after crossing the Russian border - after paying VAT (+ 18%), Mikhalkov's fee (+ 1%) and other overhead costs associated with the official import of electronics across the Russian border. As a result, the price, as compared with the factory, grows after customs clearance and “federals” markups, if not twice, then by one and a half - for sure. As a result, we see the following picture: Oppo smartphones of the average level, for which the red price is 15 thousand rubles, are on the shelf of some Svyaznoy for 25 thousand. A similar situation with models Vivo - the cheapest on the shelf of the federal retail estimated at 22 thousand. Offering a cheap HD screen! Again: such a smartphone can cost 10-12 thousand, but certainly not 22.
Vivo V7 with HD-screen for 22 thousand rubles. Earlier, only Apple could afford to sell smartphones with such displays for a lot of money. And now vivo. But what is allowed by Apple is unrealistic in the case of Chinese players with products of absolutely average properties and qualities.
What is the result? The story will surely repeat. Oppo in 2013 already came to Russia - and exactly according to the same scheme: with the pomp of meaningless cool presentations, a lot of pathos in advertising. And with horse price tags in sales channels in the form of a large federal retail. And about a year later, it logically flew out of the market. It seems that already in 2018 (maximum - in 2019), the Oppo company will leave us again. Together with my sister Vivo.
Did Oppo and Vivo have an alternative? Of course it was. Instead of the archaic federal retail scheme, it was possible to use Internet sales, as all “normal” Chinese do. For starters - the same AliExpress. Or at least combine these options. That is what the Chinese Doogee, for example, does. Its flagship smartphones can be found including in the federal retail. It is understandable: no one counts on big sales of these models, it’s just, let's say, a demonstration of possibilities. For these purposes, AvtoVAZ produced the Lada with leather interior and two-liter Opel engines in due time - it is clear that this is a piece and no one really needs a product, but it allows you to declare yourself as a more serious manufacturer. And inexpensive Doogee models, in turn, are available on AliExpress. Due to this, the highest possible price reduction is achieved. Suffice it to say that on AliExpress for 7 thousand rubles you can buy a Doogee model with a double rear camera, a metal case, a fingerprint scanner. And the most important thing (which is not present in Oppo, nor in Vivo, nor even in Meizu and Xiaomi) - with protection against water (standard IP68) and impacts.
Of all the above in the same Vivo V7, which is offered in Russia, there is only a scanner. There is no protection against water, metal, and a dual chamber — and this is at a price of 22 thousand rubles! At Oppo - the same thing (that is, there is nothing), only at a price of 25 thousand. But sweet-voiced Yegor Creed sang on a press, yeah. And buyers of Oppo smartphones will pay for his singing - in fact, the cost of marketing is somehow embedded in the price of the devices.
Doogee S30 for 7 thousand rubles for "Ali". Dual camera, fingerprint scanner and even protection against water and shock - and all this for 7 thousand. With warranty and certification in Russia - everything is as it should be
Would you say that Oppo and Vivo can equally well be bought on AliExpress? Oppo for unknown reasons on this site is missing, and some models of vivo - yes, you can. In non-certified and non-Russian form, and even without warranty. The same Doogee warranty in this case - when buying on AliExpress - gives. And it offers there certified devices.
For some time, from mid-December 2017, Xiaomi has been doing the same. This manufacturer is tired of working with a Russian distributor and federal retail. Prices are such that the conquest of the market goes at a snail's pace. Is it a matter of direct sales through "Ali": a certified Xiaomi Redmi 5A with a guarantee there for the shares cost less than 6 thousand rubles (now - just over 6 thousand rubles). In the federal retail it would sell thousands for 9. That is very expensive: there is no metal and a fingerprint scanner in this model, protection from water and strikes is also not necessary, and it will have to compete with the same Doogee protected models, where all this is available. At the same price, Xiaomi can theoretically take the brand by force, and at half the higher price, the meaning of buying a Xiaomi smartphone is completely lost.
The official Russian Xiaomi Redmi 5A with a guarantee costs 6,200 rubles on Ali. And in offline retail would be worth half as much
For example - a comparison of Xiaomi and Doogee cost around 7 thousand rubles with Vivo for 22 thousand. Draw conclusions. The main parameters of Vivo merges, in some wins, but this does not justify three times (!) The higher price.
Well, another example. In the fall, the German AGM brand quietly entered the Russian market without a pomp - it sells civilian versions of protected military smartphones, originally created for the Bundeswehr, under it. Sales - again only through AliExpress. AGM smartphones are very sophisticated, with original Samsung AMOLED screens, good cameras, decent Qualcomm hardware (and not buggy MediaTek energy eaters), and even air pollution sensors. On AliExpress, we managed to put a price tag on them in the region of 30 thousand rubles. If sales went through federal retail, there would be 45 thousand. And then all 50.
VOC sensor operation in AGM X2. This smartphone is a piece of goods, expensive and designed for special connoisseurs, and yet the competent choice of the sales channel has made it possible not to raise the price to quite an indecent level.
And again, just to understand the degree of trash-ingame - comparing AGM X2 with Oppo F5 6Gb. Both are "thirty", but the first is offered on "Ali", the second - in the official federal retail. At Oppo, only the front camera is steeper, which is important except for the audience of the level “fans of Yegor Creed and his boss Timati”.
In a word, the times have changed, and Oppo and Vivo, who bathed in their greatness in the Chinese market, did not notice this. And in Russia they are waiting for them ... yes, a fiasco is waiting for them - unless, of course, they urgently change the approach to the "conquest" of our market. Do not change - there will be bits. And from two sides: in the lower segment - small, impudent Gopniki like Doogee, and in the upper one - more serious and technically advanced brands like AGM. Although they do not invite to their pretentious presentations of fashionable singers with their mouths in the form of fake ambassadors, they sell more functional and more interesting models in every sense. And most importantly - two to three times cheaper. Such are the current market realities. Paphos nobody else appreciates.
All Articles