Oppo hails govt's approval to open single-brand retail stores in India

We have opened more than 200 OPPO showrooms: Global Vice President and President, OPPO India

Welcoming the Indian government's decision to let Chinese smartphone maker Oppo to open single-brand retail stores in the country, Sky Li, Global Vice President and President, OPPO India said the company is committed to providing good-quality devices to the young Indian users.

"We welcome the government's decision, which is in line with our commitment to providing good-quality camera phones to the young Indian users and we strongly aim to bring the best of the camera, especially selfie experience to the Indian users," Li said in a statement on Friday.

The Foreign Investment Promotion Board has approved Oppo Mobiles India Pvt Ltd's request to open single-brand retail stores, read the information on the website of Department of Industrial Policy & Promotion.

The news is good for Apple which has been trying to open its signature retail stores in the country.

According to Li, India has become the most important market for OPPO besides its domestic market.

"We have always focused on being present across all touchpoints to offer the best services to our consumers, which has led us to be the Selfie Expert and Leader in the market," he said.

"While we cannot divulge the investment and the number of OPPO showrooms under SBRT (single brand retail trading) at this stage, we are aiming at building 550 service centres by the end of 2017 to cover all regions among India," Li said.

"We have opened more than 200 OPPO showrooms. In the future, we are going to expand more OPPO showrooms to let consumers get a closer experience on and purchase our products," the top Oppo executive added.

In 2016, OPPO was ranked as the number 4 smartphone brand globally, according to IDC.