VietNamNet Bridge – Oppo Vietnam and FPT Trading are now vying for the right to distribute Oppo smartphones in the Vietnamese market.

Oppo Vietnam, which is the only official distributor of Oppo branded smartphone products in Vietnam, is now competing with a new distributor – FPT Trading.

The representative of a large smartphone distribution chain in Hanoi confirmed that in early April, it received an offer to sell Oppo F1 from FPT Trading.

The product has been officially distributed through Oppo Vietnam, which brought Oppo products to Vietnam in 2013.

A battle has broken out as Oppo F1 is offered by FPT Trading to retailers for VND1 million cheaper than that offered by Oppo Vietnam.

Oppo Vietnam sells F1 at VND5.99 million, while FPT Trading is at VND4.99 million.

Oppo Vietnam has sent a written notice to sales agents affirming that F1 products distributed by FPT Trading are not the products that Oppo, the manufacturer, assigned to distribute in Vietnam.

Meanwhile, FPT Trading said the products it was offering are the products distributed officially through Oppo global.

Analysts commented that Oppo Vietnam had to spend big money to develop the Vietnamese market, build up the brand and carry out marketing campaigns. Therefore, it will not accept another company to become the distributor of Oppo products.

Oppo Vietnam argued that FPT Trading can sell F1 at more competitive price because Oppo has become a familiar brand in Vietnam, while FPT Trading did not have to spend money on branding.

VnExpress cited a report of GfK as reporting that Oppo is among the top three best sellers.

Meanwhile, Bizlive cited an IDCreport as showing that in 2015, Oppo was the second largest market share holder, just after Samsung, with 20 percent.

At present, large retail chains, namely The Gioi Di Dong, Vien Thong A and FPT Shop, now sell Oppo smartphones distributed by Oppo Vietnam.

A media executive of The Gioi Di Dong said that The Gioi Di Dong will still sell Oppo products imported and supplied by Oppo Vietnam, and that it will not distribute the products imported by FPT Trading.

Even FPT Shop, which, like FPT Trading, is a subsidiary of FPT, the largest technology group in Vietnam, has also raised its voice in support to Oppo Vietnam, affirming that it will only retail products officially distributed through official channels.

Vien Thong A and Tech One have also made similar statements.

Meanwhile, Oppo F1 which sells for VND1 million,are available in many privately run shops in HCM City and Hanoi.

Kim Chi