OPPO, OnePlus reportedly exiting UK and Europe (Update: Temporary exit?)

Update: April 4, 2023 (1:30 AM ET): OPPO has reportedly issued another statement, asserting that it’s only temporarily halting operations in Germany due to legal action by Nokia.

“OPPO is not leaving the German market, but the business has been put on hold due to the current injunction in the German market. OPPO is still negotiating with Nokia proactively and we believe the matter will be resolved eventually,” read the statement shared by T3N journalist Andreas Floemer on Twitter.

This latest news comes roughly a week after OPPO and OnePlus issued a joint statement regarding their plans for Europe. You can read their joint statement here.

Original article: March 27, 2023 (6:42 AM ET): What started with one report from a Chinese publication called 36Krypton has snowballed into several reports, including some from trusted industry informants like Max Jambor and Twitter’s SnoopyTech. What’s the big news? Well, it looks like OPPO and its sub-brands, including OnePlus and possibly Realme, are exiting the UK, France, Germany, and the Netherlands.

It’s being reported that the company is pulling out of Europe because of the high costs of sales in the region. Although products sell in European countries, the return on investment is not high. Quoting a source close to the matter, 36Krypton reports that OPPO’s European business is bleeding (machine translated).

Macroeconomic reasons are also to blame for OPPO’s alleged withdrawal from the EU. The Russia-Ukraine war and rising inflation have led to plummeting consumption power in the region. Counterpoint Research states 2022 was the worst year for smartphone shipments in Europe. OPPO’s shipments, in particular, dropped 39% year-on-year in the fourth quarter of 2022.

What does OPPO have to say?

We contacted OPPO about the alleged development and got a vague reply at first. A spokesperson told us that the firm is happy with the launch of the Find N2 Flip in the European market. The rest of their statement reads as follows:

The European market has always been one of our key markets. We have made a good start in the European market in 2023, and our business in Europe is as usual. With the successful launch of Find N2 Flip in London and the presentation of our latest technologies and products at MWC 2023, OPPO will continue to focus on user needs and provide more innovative products and services.

This is neither a denial nor a confirmation of OPPO’s exit from Europe. However, after further questioning, the company’s spokesperson said, “Our business in the EU is normal at present.”

Meanwhile, the statement OnePlus emailed us reads as follows:

OnePlus will not exit from Europe and the UK and maintains stable operations in local markets. OnePlus will continue to invest in Europe and provide more innovative product and solutions for its users.

As they say that, more questions arise as to why OPPO isn’t launching the Find X6 series in Europe this year. The company recently unveiled it in China and made it emphatically clear that the flagships won’t be stepping outside of its home country. The move can be interpreted as a precursor to pulling out of Europe altogether. But now that OPPO says all is well, it’s hard to tell what’s really going on behind the scenes.

OPPO has also had some legal trouble in Europe in the recent past. A patent infringement lawsuit brought on by Nokia resulted in OnePlus phones being banned from Germany.

With OPPO out, the European market would be left with Apple, Samsung, Xiaomi, Google, and Motorola as the main smartphone vendors in the region. Of these, the competition is limited to Samsung and Xiaomi in the Android smartphone market, as they have the most significant market share.