Dialing world for success in 5G era

In the fourth quarter of 2018, Oppo outcompeted Samsung to become the largest smartphone vendor in Thailand with a market share of 22.2 percent, growing about 70 percent year-on-year, according to the market research company Canalys.

Its products and services are also well received in other South Asian and Southeast Asian countries, including India, and African countries such as Kenya.

In 2018, Oppo shipped 113 million units of smartphones worldwide, garnering a global market share of more than 8 percent, according to IDC data.

But Wu admitted that it is not easy to crack open the hard nut of European smartphone market where most handsets are sold in large retail chains and by local telecom operators.

Also, European consumers are different from their Chinese counterparts in terms of product preferences. For instance, European consumers are not big fans of beautifying photos. As a result, the company has to work hard to localize its products.

Although Oppo is a well-known brand among European telecom industry professionals, awareness about it among the consumers is not high.

"It takes time to build a brand, with careful consideration needed to decide what forms of marketing and product communications are appropriate. We are working hard to know the specific characteristics of each market," Wu said.

Xiang Ligang, director-general of the Information Consumption Alliance, said if Chinese smartphone makers want to truly grow into global brands, they cannot just stay in China or Southeast Asia or Africa. They need to establish a presence in more advanced markets such as Japan, Europe and the United States.

"They had made significant technological advancements as well as product designs in recent years. They are now in a relatively good position to venture out into the advanced battlefields," Xiang said.

Even as Oppo steps up expansion in Europe, it has filed over 33,000 patent applications worldwide as of January.

It has also inked a multi-year global patent license agreement with Swedish telecom equipment giant Ericsson. Under the deal, the two sides will also collaborate on a number of business projects.

The deal is the latest in a series of patent license agreements with key industry partners such as Qualcomm, Dolby and Nokia. This strategy is expected to clear the patent obstacles for Oppo to better serve global consumers in the 5G era, said Fu Liang, an independent telecom analyst.

"Talent is what we are in dire need of, to explore overseas market," Wu said.

Oppo aims to have 90 percent of its Europe-based staff sourced from the local talent pool, so as to better tap into the design and art scholars from local universities.

The company said it currently has over 40,000 employees globally, with 10 manufacturing facilities and six research institutes across the world.

Its mobile operating system ColorOS commands 250 million users worldwide. To expand its reach, Oppo has also set up over 400,000 points of sale worldwide.