Chinese smartphone makers Oppo and its spin-off brand Oneplus just issued a statement in the afternoon of Monday to dismiss the rumor the two companies will merge.
Rumor has it that OnePlus, the plucky Chinese smartphone maker with an established reputation abroad, may merge back into parent company, OPPO. In a move to compete more efficiently with Xiaomi and Huawei, OPPO has evidently changed its name to prepare for the change, reports NetEase Tech on Monday.
Guangdong Oupo Electronics Co., Ltd, the company founded in 2004 that owns OPPO, quietly changed its name into Guangdong Oujia holdings Limited on November 20, according to registration information published on the official website of the State Administration for Industry and Commerce.
The reason for the name change is not explained officially by OPPO, but it is speculated that Oujia, is a combination of the names Oupo, OPPO’s Pinyin Chinese name, and Yijia, OnePlus’ Pinyin Chinese name.
The rumors follow that OnePlus will be merged into Oujia Holdings after certain layoffs, where it will act as a sub-brand of Oujia and work hand in hand with OPPO.
This merger is said to be the first move for OPPO and Vivo, two brands born out of leading Chinese electronics manufacturer BBK Electronics, cuddling together to compete with prominent rivals Xiaomi and Huawei, who topped domestic smartphone sales in October.
A move initiated by OnePlus makes the merger rumor seem more convincing. According to Sohu Tech news, in late November OnePlus announced it would cease expansion of its offline dealers in the short term, and shut down most of its experience shops in China, only maintaining shops in Beijing and Shanghai.
OnePlus, a smartphone producer born in 2014, was founded by Liu Zuohu, an OPPO veteran of 15 years. Vivo, originally founded as BBK Vivo in 1995, is a Chinese smartphone maker.
(Top photo from Baidu Images)
