Oppo has had a strained relationship with Nokia thanks to a patent lawsuit filed by the latter in Germany, resulting in Oppo and OnePlus phonesbeing banned from sale in the country. That doesn’t mean the Chinese phone maker will discontinue its entire operations in Germany; Oppo was only ordered tohalt operations in Germanyuntil it paid what it owed to the Finnish phone maker. The dispute fueled speculation that Oppo intended to exit large swaths of the European market,which it quickly denied. Recent events surrounding its business in France, however, suggest otherwise, with a new report claiming that Oppo is preparing to leave the country.
Oppo has reportedly axed an external team responsible for marketing and sales operations in France, according to sources interviewed by French websiteFrandroid(via9to5Google). These sources purportedly worked for Oppo as commercial animators, highlighting Oppo products in stores and training sales staff.
According to intelligence gathered by the outlet, Oppo’s commercial animation efforts have stopped. In addition, a few local retailers apparently told Frandroid that the company only intends to sell its existing inventories across stores in France, with no plans to replenish them once stocks run out. This plan supposedly applies to the Oppo Find N2 Flip as well as Oppo’s budget and flagship lineups, such as the Reno and Find X models.
It appears that many of these commercial animators are employed by a third-party vendor known as Atmospheres. According to the report, Atmospheres laid off all employees doing marketing campaigns for Oppo, including regional managers, ambassadors, coaches, national trainers, and sector managers.
Atmospheres' contract with Oppo will also reportedly expire on June 30. That said, the Chinese firm told Frandroid it will still do business in the country beyond that date, without giving straightforward answers to questions about its future plans.
As it stands, Atmospheres apparently has yet to receive payment for invoices it sent to Oppo amounting to €2.74 million. Oppo declined to comment on the status of its outstanding invoices, but Frandroid notes that the patent dispute with Nokia may be partly to blame for its imminent departure from France.
If the report is correct, Oppo’s exit from France, and likely other European markets, could pose significant challenges to the region’s smartphone market. Competition is essential for innovation, and the loss of a major innovator in the smartphone industry would have a negative impact on the development of both value-focused andflagship Android phones.
