What you need to know
- OPPO may be staring at a possible exit from France.
- The company has apparently ceased all operations and sales of newer products in the country.
- Both Chinese brand has let go of its marketing and sales teams which have been stated to be quite important for their brand and products.
Several Chinese phone brands have been grappling with a patent infringement case brought about by the Finnish OEM, Nokia. The problems have not quite been resolved, and it looks like OnePlus and OPPO are facing dire scenarios in France.
According to French publication Frandroid, OPPO may be staring at a reality where it is forced to cease all operations and pull out of France (via SamMobile). From some of Frandroid's findings, OPPO has apparently let go of its marketing and sales teams in the country. This points toward a much more strenuous situation for the Chinese phone brand, as without those teams, sales will likely plummet as they try and compete with larger companies like Samsung.
It was discovered that the company is becoming more interested in selling its current stock and that there are no plans to "welcome new products." The publication spoke to a former OPPO sales manager who doubled down on the facts and gave the example of the brand's recent launch of the Find N2 Flip, which is not available in stores in the country.
Another discovery comes via the Chinese OEM's relationship with Atmospheres, a company that was under contracted work. Apparently, OPPO cut ties with employees from the subcontractor, leaving pending invoices totaling around 2.74 million euros unpaid to Atmospheres.
The contract is set to officially expire on June 30. The Chinese OEM further stated it is planning to continue to be present in France well into July, as well.
With respect to the unpaid invoices, OPPO provided a statement to Frandroid, which reads, "Our top priority is to continue to provide excellent service to our existing users in France, as always. Users can continue to use Oppo products, access after-sales service, receive future operating system updates, and more. Nothing changes for end users."
OnePlus and OPPO have been grappling with problems in Europe — beginning with Germany — when Nokia pushed forward with a patent dispute. The lawsuit all began with the Chinese subsidiaries' use of Nokia's 5G technology. And, most recently, another BBK technologies brand, Xiaomi, started facing the same problems as Nokia brought its patent dispute to the company's front door.
This isn't the first we've heard of OPPO's struggles, as late March held rumors that quickly spread of its sudden exit from the EU completely. During that time, the company acknowledged the trials and tribulations it faced in the region but remained stoic in stating it wouldn't be going anywhere. However, things are possibly beginning to change nearly two months later.
