Oppo set to splurge to keep ranking
Chinese handset maker Oppo is spending over 1 billion baht on marketing to strengthen its presence in the local premium smartphone market this year after displacing Huawei to rank third in Thailand last year.
After making the top three in local smartphone sales with almost a 10% market share in 2016, Oppo has increased its marketing budget from 800 million baht to 1 billion this year to maintain its position amid intense competition, especially from Chinese rivals.
“We believe Chinese smartphone makers will increasingly increase their market shares in Thailand, displacing South Korea’s Samsung over the next 2-5 years, which will keep any one player from dominating the market,” said Chanon Jirayuakul, sales director of Thai Oppo Co, the local operating unit of the world’s fourthlargest handset maker.
Samsung and Apple are expected to have, at most, a combined 25% of market share in Thailand.
That is a sharp reduction from 70% in recent years.
Mr Chanon said Oppo [including other Chinese brands] is increasingly gaining acceptance among Thai consumers, thanks to its robust marketing campaign to promote brand awareness.
Oppo will focus on a more premium smartphone segment, those priced between 12,000-15,000 baht apiece.
Last year, he said Oppo had a 34% share of the smartphone segment for models priced 8,000-10,000 baht.
Oppo plans to roll out 10 smartphone models in Thailand this year, with highresolution camera phones coming as a highlighted feature.
In 2016, Oppo saw a 76% increase in its handset sales in Thailand.
Mr Chanon said the country is an important market for Oppo as high-end Thai consumers have strong purchasing power.
He added that the replacement cycle for smartphones among Thais is short — an average of 12-18 months.
“We are in discussions with our headquarters to design and make smartphones using local parts to serve Thai consumers,” said Mr Chanon.
He said sales of smartphones in Thailand are expected to rise by at least 5% in 2017, up from 13.3 million units sold last year.
That boost is projected to largely be driven by improvements in economic conditions and political stability.