(Yicai) Nov. 9 -- Chinese mobile phone manufacturers occupy almost 70 percent of the cellphone market in Indonesia, after a decade of painstaking efforts, and they now have their eyes set on the high-end market, according to the latest data.

Oppo has overtaken South Korea’s Samsung to become the Southeast Asian country’s most popular smartphone maker, with 20 percent market share, according to figures from market research firm Canalys. There are three other Chinese handset manufacturers in the top five, namely Vivo, Xiaomi and Transsion, with 18 percent, 16 percent and 13 percent market share respectively.

Chinese cellphone makers began to make inroads into Indonesia, which has the largest economy and the biggest population among the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, around 10 years ago.

The average price of a mobile phone in Indonesia was between CNY500 (USD68.60) and CNY600 in 2013, so when Oppo first entered the market, it focused on products in this price range, Jim Zhang, chief executive officer of Oppo Indonesia, told Yicai.

Oppo launched its first handset Find 5 in Indonesia in April 2013 and sold 100,000 units within six months. It rolled out the slogan of ‘covering the island country with the green color of the Oppo logo’ in 2015, targeting the grassroots market. Oppo introduced outlets nationwide from villages to the capital, ran blanket TV commercials and filled the streets with Oppo adverts and salesmen riding bikes painted with the Oppo logo. In this way, Oppo’s sales doubled in the country in just two years.

There are now almost 65 million active Oppo phone users in Indonesia and the Asia-Pacific region is its biggest regional market outside China. The Dongguan-based company employs around 20,000 people in Indonesia, including 15,000 salespersons, 2,500 factory workers, and 2,500 after-sales service staff.

A successful business model in China is likely to be successful in Southeast Asia as well, but companies need to go deep into the local market to understand customer demand, said Shi Shuai, chief executive officer of Oppo Asia-Pacific.

Going High-End

Oppo is now turning to the premium market. In order to do this, it needs to build its brand to gain consumer confidence and help it get better store locations, Patrick Owen, chief marketing officer of Oppo Indonesia, told Yicai.

Samsung and Apple dominate Indonesia’s ultra-high-end phone market, although Samsung and Oppo are the top two in the high-end market, with prices between USD400 and USD599, according to data by market research firm Counterpoint.

Although Chinese smartphone brands are becoming increasingly popular, affluent consumers in Southeast Asia, including Indonesia, still prefer iPhone and Samsung phones to Chinese high-end ones, said Glen Cardoza, a senior analyst at Counterpoint.

It requires precise product positioning to compete with rivals in the premium market, Shi said. Oppo is focusing on foldable phones in Indonesia, hoping to attract consumers with different products.

It is working hard on the retail side to improve brand awareness, including increasing its presence in luxury shopping malls. The firm also needs to change marketing strategy, Shi said. Previously, it focused on customer conversion, but now it needs to concentrate more on improving the consumer experience and this requires better trained employees.

Editors: Tang Shihua, Kim Taylor