The Chinese tech company OPPO, currently the second-largest smartphone manufacturer in its home country after Huawei, has announced a comprehensive partnership agreement with the UK-based telecom giant Vodafone. Under the deal, Vodafone will become an OPPO partner and bring its full-range of 4G and 5G smartphones to retail and online channels in Germany, the United Kingdom, Spain, Portugal, Romania, Turkey and the Netherlands.
According to the announcement, the collaboration between the two companies will give customers more choice and accelerate 5G adoption in Vodafone’s international markets. Driven by strong growth ambitions, an innovative product portfolio and advanced 5G technology expertise, the leading Chinese smartphone brand has been very successful in its domestic market. With annual handset shipments of more than 100 million units, OPPO believes that it is “a natural partner for Vodafone’s leading gigabit network”.
Alen Wu, Vice President and President of Global Sales at OPPO, said, “OPPO is confident that our industry-leading products and technologies will enable Vodafone to win new opportunities in the 5G era. Vodafone’s vision that ‘we connect for a better future’ aligns with OPPO’s value of ‘Benfen’ – to do the right thing and provide real value to customers. OPPO looks forward to solidifying a long-term win-win relationship with Vodafone to create a better future for our customers in the 5G era.”
Starting from May 2020, Vodafone will introduce OPPO’s value-for-money models and industry-leading 5G flagship smartphones, including the OPPO A, Reno and Find X series. Vodafone said that this partnership allows the company to expand its portfolio of 5G devices so that it can meet their customer requirements in each market.
Ahmed Essam, Vodafone Group Chief Commercial Operations and Strategy Officer, said, “The combination of OPPO’s state-of-the-art devices and Vodafone’s leading network will give our customers greater choice with the full potential of 5G. Vodafone’s partnership with OPPO brings together their attractive product portfolio with our growing strength in 5G to our markets across Europe and beyond.”
In addition, the companies said that due to the current restrictions on physical retailing, they will explore and develop online sales channels and ensure continued support for customers. OPPO and Vodafone expect their collaboration and product availability to expand to other countries as well.
