Billionaire Oppo Maker Reveals How He Toppled Apple In China and TIM COOK

Billionaire Oppo Maker Reveals How He Toppled Apple In China and TIM COOK

Duan Yongping is convinced Tim Cook had no idea who he was when they met a couple of years ago. The boss of Apple probably does now.

Duan is the lonely billionaire who founded Oppo and Vivo, the twin of smartphone brands that have handled the world's largest company a bitter defeat in China last year. Once ridiculed as a cheap iPhone imitation, they have climbed positions and pushed Apple Inc. out of the top three in 2016 - when iPhone shipments in China fell for the first time.

They managed to do so because the US smartphone giant will not adapt to local competition, the businessman told Bloomberg in what he said was his first interview in 10 years. Oppo and Vivo tactics used Apple has been reluctant to pay, since the cheaper devices with high-end features, for fear of compromising its winning formula elsewhere, said Duan.

"Apple could not beat China, because they also have defects," said the 56-year-old bumpy electronics. . They do a much lot of big things, like they have operating system, but they are excel in other areas."

This does not mean Duan does not appreciate the overall weight of the iPhone manufacturer. In fact, the billionaire's obsession with his American rival is legion: he has long been a big-time investor at Apple and a brash fan of his CEO.

"I met Tim Cook several times. I could not know, but we talked a little '," Duan said. "I like very much".

Apple could not confirm Duan's meeting with Cook when contacted by Bloomberg. But Duan has blogged incessantly about Apple's products, stock price and operations in 2013, when the company was worth half of what it is today. It takes "a big pocket" as it brings four devices, including a heavily used iPhone. In a 2015 post, he supported Apple's earnings to reach $ 100 billion within five years. Today, Duan will not say when he actually bought, but says a lot of his wealth abroad is still tied up in the iPhone maker. He also lives in Palo Alto, an easy-to-use UFO-like disk at Apple's Cupertino headquarters.

"Apple is an extraordinary company. It is a model for us to learn from," Duan said. "We have the concept of overcoming anyone, instead of focusing is to improve ourselves."

OPPO profits against Apple can now earn even greater numbers after billionaire nicknamed the Chinese Warren Buffett for his investment acumen by the local media. Born in Jiangxi, one of the cradles of Mao Zedong's communist revolution, Duan began his career in a vacuum tube system state before making his name with homegrown electronics.

Duan left the production plant around 1990, when China was embracing capitalism and opening up industries to private investment. He headed to the southern province of Guangdong in China, then the cradle of liberal reforms, to run a system of e-into problems. 

Duan left to create a new business that the year that has flourished operation - a pattern that would be repeated in the following years. He baptized his second company Bubugao, literally, "the greatest increase step by step." BBK, as the company came to be known, has created a popular line of VCD and MP3 players, but later also made DVD players for global brands. Rama Bubugao Communications Equipment Co. has become one of the largest manufacturers of telephony functions in the country around 2000, a neck and neck with Nokia and Motorola.

E 'was the first iPhone in 2007 that paved the way for Oppo and Vivo. While sharing a common founder of Duan, sister brands are fierce competitors, trotting out duel marketing campaigns in the markets of India to Southeast Asia. His philosophy plays well the art of selling in emerging markets, IDC Research Director Kiranjeet Kaur said.

"We've been in serious talks about closing the company quietly - so employees can come out unscathed and providers do not lose money," he said.

Those of intense brainstorming sessions generated by the two companies would continue to embody more Duan success. In 2005, the businessman and his protege, Tony Chen has decided to create a new society. Dubbed Oppo, it sold music players, but stepped up for smartphones in 2011. In 2009, BBK Live created itself, led by another of the Duan disciples, Shen Wei.

"Making mobile phones was not my call," Duan said. "But I thought we could do well in this market."

At first, the seal has not received much attention. The iPhone has captivated users with its revolutionary application system and sleek interface, while BlackBerry dominated the corporate market. But Oppo and Vivo also developed a marketing bombing approach that has relied on any local celebrity and large re-sellers of the network of stores across China. They are made of an image at an affordable price that attract a millennium crowd, then cheated their devices with high end specs. On the surface, Oppo and Vivo now routine phones outperform the iPhone in measures such as charging speed, memory and battery life.

It was worth it. The duo together shipped more than 147 million smartphones in China in 2016, Dwarf Huawei Technologies Co. 76.6 million units, Apple 44.9 million and 41.5 million estimates of Xiaomi, IDC. Oppo and Vivo have doubled their course of 2015. In the fourth quarter, which were No. 1 and No. 3, respectively - Huawei was the second. Their approach has worked very well in lower-tier cities where mid-range phones have become a commercial success, said Tay Xiaohan, IDC analyst.

Duan progeny smartphones are also gaining some momentum beyond their field. In the fourth quarter, Oppo and Vivo were fourth and fifth in the world, respectively. Approximately a quarter of Oppo shipments went to markets such as India, where they are expected to dig in before Apple establishes a significant presence.

"Smart phones are an unprecedented opportunity, and we hope that at least the next 10 or 20 years, there is no replacement, but we do not know," Duan said.

Cook said that over the weekend that Apple does not have a specific market share.

Duan has always kept his distance from producers of Chinese smartphones while still being a significant shareholder (will not say how much). He says he prefers to stay away from the floodlights and enjoy California with his wife, journalist and children. In fact, it participates in board meetings, but expects to get most of its information about Oppo and Vivo over the Internet, in order to avoid the "disturbing".

His rivals were less considerate. Last October, Xiaomi Corp. co-founder Lei Jun blamed competitors who built store dense channels in rural areas in search of quick sales. In an interview with China Entrepreneurs magazine in October, accused these players to use "information asymmetry" to deceive buyers avoid Xiaomi, precipitating their fall from the top position.

"Those who said it was crazy," said Duan without naming. "When someone talks about an information imbalance, they basically think consumers are idiots."

Duan has cemented his reputation as a financially experienced in part by digging his friend, Netease Inc. founder William Ding, from a hole. Ding Internet company stalled from 13 cents after the bubble burst of the dot-com, then almost became the first Chinese company to appear in the US. To get rid of the Nasdaq in a matter of control. Duan came to the aid of his friend, buying a 5 percent of Netease with only $ 2 million in 2002, when the stock price, on average, 16 cents. Company filings show even had little more than 4 million shares as of March 2009, but Duan said that it sold a lot of that when Netease hit $ 40.