Counterpoint: how vivo conquered the Chinese market in Q2

Counterpoint Research reported that vivo climbed to the top spot in the Chinese market back in April. Now an analyst from the company has posted an interesting write-up of how vivo (and its sibling company Oppo) managed to grow so big.

Counterpoint: vivo conquered the Chinese market with a focus on product segmentation, offline distribution

It starts with the fall of Huawei, of course. While the now-independent Honor is doing well in recapturing some of the lost market share, its new products (like the Magic3 series) are on the pricey side and Honor just lacks the brand acclaim held by Huawei that allowed the P and Mate series to sell at such prices.

Pricing is a big factor, explains the analyst. vivo has neatly organized its offerings – the Y series covers the sub CNY 2,000 market (~$300), the S series operates in the CNY 2,000-3,500 range ($300-$550) and the X series focuses on the over CNY 3,500 market.

Phones like the vivo X60 have successfully raised the company’s profile, the cheaper models have been strong sellers too – the Y series accounts for half the sub CNY 2,000 market in China.

It even has a 5G phone for as low as CNY 1,300. That is an impressive feat at a time of chip shortages, which has lead chip maker to increase costs. However, parent company BBK has built a robust supply chain, which allows its daughter companies to keep costs low.

Counterpoint: vivo conquered the Chinese market with a focus on product segmentation, offline distribution

vivo also focused on offline distribution, which is still quite popular in some regions of China. Oppo and vivo together control something like 70% of the offline market. The iQOO brand does the opposite – it’s all about online distribution and getting the attention of Generation Z buyers.

To that end it has been sponsoring the Honor of Kings King Pro League (KPL), which is a premiere esports competition in China. vivo was the official sponsor of EURO 2020 (it is also onboard for the 2024 championship).

You can read Counterpoint’s report for more details.

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