According to many persons acquainted with the situation, Michael Guo, the CEO of the Chinese smartphone maker Realme India, is leaving the company amid a comprehensive reorganization process that will see the brand amalgamated with OnePlus under Oppo’s larger corporate structure.
“We certify that Michael Guo has resigned from his position as the Representative Head in charge of the Realme brand’s Indian operations due to specific health concerns. A Realme India representative told Moneycontrol in a statement, “The company respects his decision and extends its sincere appreciation for his valuable contributions to the business, including the India territory during his tenure.”
Chase Xu, Vice President of Realme Global, would be in charge of the Indian market, according to the spokesman, who also stated that the company is still devoted to India and will keep concentrating on its long-term expansion.
Guo has played a significant role in the Oppo Group and was a member of the original Realme team, which was headed by Sky Li. when working on the Realme business in India for almost eight years, he served as CEO of Realme Indonesia and Southeast Asia for 15 months until taking over as CEO of India in March 2023 when Madhav Sheth left.
According to sources, Guo, who is located in Shenzhen, has also been informally in charge of OnePlus’s activities in India. Oppo and OnePlus did not respond to inquiries.
Restructuring of brands
Chase Xu, Vice President of Realme Global, would be in charge of the Indian market, according to the spokesman, who also stated that the company is still devoted to India and will keep concentrating on its long-term expansion.
The reorganization is similar to what was done in China, where Oppo combined OnePlus and Realme into a single business entity in order to optimize resources, increase collaboration, and streamline operations. In 2021, OnePlus drew closer to Oppo and began functioning as a special business unit (SBU) within the firm, marking the beginning of a similar integration in India.
As part of the most recent consolidation effort, which has also included sporadic personnel rationalization across teams over the past few months, Realme is now being incorporated into the same framework, according to sources.
“OnePlus will be the online brand with fewer handset launches, especially in mid and mid premium segments, while Realme will act as a series instead of an individual sub-brand like Oppo’s series like Reno after Diwali,” a source close to the development told Moneycontrol.
Oppo’s long-term strategy, according to sources, is to operate the Oppo, Realme, and OnePlus brands as separate product series rather than separate companies under a unified corporate structure.
Another individual acquainted with the situation claims that as part of the integration, current Realme distributors, also known as “agents,” will be given the choice to join Oppo’s distribution network and handle both Oppo and Realme products.
Employees will be affected immediately. People will be eliminated whenever there is role duplication. A third person stated, “They won’t keep two people with the same profile.” “They are implementing employee rationalization and layoffs in a phased manner, which will take a total of 12-15 months.”
According to insiders, Realme’s marketing, sales, service, and administrative departments are still undergoing rationalization, despite the resignation of about 25 employees last month.
Realme began firing workers in sales and service network roles in February, according to a report by Moneycontrol.
Realme was introduced to rival Redmi from Xiaomi.
Before being split off as a separate company under BBK Electronics, Realme was first introduced as a sub-brand of Oppo in 2018 to compete with Xiaomi’s Redmi. Since 2021, the brand’s operational structure in India has changed several times.
In response to accusations of tax cheating against the parent company, it de-risked the business in 2023 by creating a distinct legal organization, Realme Mobile Telecommunications (India), to oversee its own sales and distribution operations rather than passing them through Oppo Mobiles India.
Oppo’s Indian subsidiary is accused by the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI) of dodging taxes of Rs 5,086 crore, including Rs 4,403 crore in customs duty and Rs 683 crore in goods and services tax (GST).
It is anticipated that supply conditions in H2 will becoming even more challenging. Shortages of components and storage are already posing problems. The third person stated, “The Oppo Group will be able to secure supply and compete with brands like Samsung, Vivo, Xiaomi, and Apple thanks to the restructuring and consolidation.”
