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Why OnePlus Will Continue To Be A Digital-First Brand

The recipe for OnePlus’ success in India and around the world.

Employees at work inside One Plus’ offices in China (Photographer: Qilai Shen/Bloomberg)
Employees at work inside One Plus’ offices in China (Photographer: Qilai Shen/Bloomberg)

Chinese smartphone maker Oneplus will continue with the digital-first strategy that’s propelled it the top premium smartphone brand in India in a short span of time.

Customers can only pick up a OnePlus device on Amazon India or the company’s website. Online sales will remain the preferred path in India, Vikas Aggarwal, general manager at OnePlus India told BloombergQuint, “We are in the premium segment and everybody can afford to shop online. When we sell online we have an advantage in terms of distribution costs, lower overheads and can connect with our users better.”

The strategy seems to have paid off. According to global market intelligence firm IDC’s report from November, OnePlus has become the top premium smartphone brand in India. It’s also the top smartphone brand in terms of online sales in India.

The company is, however, also looking at opening more experience stores in India going by the success of the first such store in Bengaluru, Aggarwal said.

The Shenzhen-based startup started in 2013 with affordable “flagship killers” on the market with an invite-only sales strategy. According to Kyle Kiang, global head of marketing at OnePlus what’s really worked for the company is word of mouth marketing.

Word of mouth is really core for us. At the end of the day to purchase a smart phone that’s more powerful than any marketing. We know if we make really good products, people will tell their family and friends and we encourage that. That’s how we’ve grown.
Kyle Kiang, Global Head - Marketing, OnePlus