Oppo announces Realme sub-brand, to launch on May 15, starting at Rs. 10,000

Chinese smartphone maker Oppo has announced a new sub-brand named Realme that will cater exclusively to the online retail segment. . This is the first major bet from Oppo, the fourth largest smartphone brand in India, to enter the online-only segment. Oppo announces Realme sub-brand, to launch on May 15 and will be launching a smartphone Realme 1 exclusively on Amazon.

Realme, OPPO’s exclusive e-commerce brand with a range of devices ‘Made for and in India’, will share OPPO’s production line in the country. Manufactured by OPPO factories, the brand assures extremely high quality at affordable prices. Primarily catering to the diverse needs of the young Indian consumers present online, Realme will offer beautifully designed and power packed choices in the range of Rs. 10,000-20,000 on India’s largest marketplace, Amazon India. The brand plans more premium product launches in the near future.

The company also confirmed that the first Realme smartphone will be called Realme 1 and it will launch on May 15, 2018. In the teaser page being put up by the Seattle-based e-commerce giant, Realme is being pitched as a smartphone brand catering to youth in the country. This will include a wide range of devices. All the smartphones from Realme will be manufactured in India and will share Oppo’s production line in the country.

“Today, young consumers are looking for an affordable price option without compromising on the build-quality and the device performance. Realme phones will satisfy the needs of the young and online consumers.”

“Smartphones continue to be one of our largest categories and making us the destination of choice for customers as well as brands. We are excited to partner with OPPO for the launch of their new sub-brand that appeals to savvy, young shoppers. With a focus on providing the best selection at the best prices and the convenience of fast & reliable delivery, we have and will continue to work customer backwards,” added Noor Patel, Director – Category Management, Amazon India.

Conclusion

Since it started operations in India, Oppo has mainly focused on the offline segment and it has only recently started making devices available from the online retail channels. With Realme, Oppo seems to be going in the direction of Xiaomi, which has always been the online-exclusive smartphone brand. However, it is not evident whether Oppo’s dual-brand strategy will work in India.