It’s like a bad dream for technology lovers in France. Oppo, the Chinese smartphone giant, this challenger who has never hesitated to compete with heavyweights such as Apple and Samsung, seems about to take the door. Rumors, facts, everything converges towards a cataclysmic scenario: Oppo leaves the French market. And the worst thing is that they leave us with a particular bitterness, because their latest products promised so much.
Update of May 31, 2023:
Events are rushing, Oppo France seems to have lost its digital platform. If you attempt to log in to the Oppo Store today, you’ll be greeted with a lovely Shopify error page. For those unfamiliar with this term, Shopify is an e-commerce platform that allows businesses to create their own online shopping websites.
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This error page may indicate that the site is no longer in service or has been closed. We can still observe the last appearance of the site on archive.org. However, the OnePlus site is still online, however the latter is global and is not managed by the French subsidiary.
This fact occurs in a context where several testimonies suggest a gradual disengagement of Oppo in France. Murmurs among the public, whispers within the industry, and non-verbal cues such as a website shutting down are all telltale signs of an impending farewell. And while we can all hope that these rumors are unfounded, the facts unfortunately seem to prove otherwise. Especially since the director of Oppo France has announced that he is leaving his post.
Yet, in this whirlwind of conjectures and omens, Oppo France remains strangely silent. No official communication, no clarification, not even a simple tweet to reassure worried consumers.
Thanks to the reader who pointed this information out to us.
Original article from May 16, 2023:
Last March, a rumor began to circulate like wildfire: Oppo and OnePlus, the two Chinese brands beloved by techies, were preparing to leave French territory. Of course, these allegations were denied outright by both companies.
It must be said that it would be a little embarrassing to declare ” Yes, yes, we are packing our suitcases to leave “. However, according to a survey conducted by Frandroid, the reality would be somewhat different. Oppo is indeed preparing to leave the French market.
Oppo’s German site has turned into a blank page
But that’s not all. The situation in Germany also seems to be deteriorating. Oppo’s German site has turned into a blank page, highlighting only its partnership with the UEFA Champions League. Even the Reno 8 and Find N2 Flip have disappeared from circulation. In fact, it makes you wonder if there is anything left to sell.
This curious development is not really a surprise. Oppo is currently in a legal bind in Germany, following a German court injunction related to a patent dispute with Nokia. The Chinese manufacturer is accused of having used Nokia’s patented technology to process 4G and 5G signals without having paid for a license.
Oppo expressed optimism that it could reach an agreement with Nokia and resume operations in Germany. However, the fact that it wiped its German site clean could suggest that the company is considering exiting the German market despite its previous denial.
And France in all this? We may well be next on the list. When we see what is happening with our neighbors, there is little hope that the situation will be radically different here.
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