Report: Realme is going back to sub-brand status under Oppo

The latest restructuring inside the ranks of the former BBK Electronics conglomerate involves Realme’s return as an Oppo sub-brand. The news comes from China’s Leifeng.com and is based on information shared by internal sources from Oppo. According to the report, Realme founder and CEO Sky Li will retain his responsibilities and will lead the Realme sub-brand under Oppo management in this organizational alignment.

According to the report, Oppo is looking to strengthen internal collaboration between Oppo, Realme and fellow sub-brand OnePlus while also improving resource management and Oppo’s global expansion strategy.

Under the new management, Oppo will serve as the leading brand while OnePlus and Realme will operate as complementary sub-brands with their own marketing strategies.

The move won’t impact future Realme product launches, with all upcoming devices set to be released as scheduled. According to the new report, Realme will be integrated into Oppo’s after-sales service system, which also includes over 5,000 physical stores across China.

Realme started out as an Oppo sub-brand back in May 2018 and then transitioned to independent brand status later that year. BBK Electronics - the conglomerate that included Oppo, vivo, OnePlus, iQOO and Realme, eventually disintegrated in 2023 and was succeeded by Oppo, vivo and imoo – the children's smartwatch maker.

Source (in Chinese)