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BBK Electronics

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BBK Electronics Corporation
Native name
广东步步高电子工业有限公司
Guangdong Bubugao Electronics Industry Co., Ltd.
Company typePrivate[1]
IndustryConsumer electronics
Founded18 September 1995; 29 years ago (1995-09-18)
FounderDuan Yongping
Defunct7 April 2023; 22 months ago (2023-04-07)
FateSplit and deregistered
SuccessorsOppo
Vivo
HeadquartersFutian District, Shenzhen, China
Area served
Worldwide
ProductsSmartphones
Smart TVs
Hi-Fi
Home theatre
Audiovisual
BrandsOppo
Vivo
iQOO
OnePlus
Realme
BBK Electronics
Simplified Chinese广东步步高电子工业有限公司
Traditional Chinese廣東步步高電子工業有限公司
Literal meaningGuangdong Bu Bu Gao Electronics Industrial Corporation Ltd.[a]
Transcriptions
Standard Mandarin
Hanyu PinyinGuǎngdōng Bù Bù Gāo Diànzǐ Gōngyè Yǒuxiàn Gōngsī

BBK Electronics was a Chinese multinational electronics conglomerate. It was a leading consumer electronics brand specialized in audio and video equipment, home entertainment products and home appliances. It also acted as an investor in leading companies in various sectors of consumer electronics. The company specialized in developing consumer electronics products such as smartphones, tablet computers, smartwatches, smart TVs, Hi-Fi equipment, Blu-ray players, and digital cameras.

BBK Electronics Corp has restructured its major brands—Oppo, OnePlus, and Realme—into independent entities to safeguard against potential regulatory scrutiny on Chinese companies. This move aims to clarify revenue accountability and strengthen operational independence amidst rising geopolitical tensions. The company was deregistered on 7 April 2023.[2][permanent dead link‍][3]

History

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Guangdong BBK Electronics Corporation limited was established on 18 September 1995, in Dongguan, Guangdong, China, By Duan Yongping.[4] Due to the conflict between Duan and the boss of Subor, Duan Yongping decided to leave Subor and create another company, making a commitment to not engage in student computer-related products within one year. In 1996, BBK released their first product line - the corded telephone. After the promised one year, BBK released their first student computer product "BBG Student Computer (Floppy No.1)"(BBG is the original English name of BBK). Once the product was release, it achieved great success, making BBK one of the three major student computer companies in China (the other two companies are Subor and Yuxing), and finally became the most popular student computer product in China according the investigation made by China National Radio in July 1997. Meanwhile, Duan divided BBK into three – the AV factory (the predecessor of Oppo), the telephone factory (the predecessor of Vivo), and the computer and video game factory (the predecessor of BBK Education Electronics), each operating independently. In order to increase the responsiveness of the three factories, the headquarters has decentralized some marketing and after-sales rights; the three factories regularly reconcile accounts with the headquarters and allocate a certain percentage of their annual profits to cover the operating costs of the headquarters' functional departments. [5]

As the group's business continued to improve, Duan Yongping felt that the time was ripe to let go completely. Therefore, at the beginning of 1999, based on the previous situation of the three factories operating independently, the group was further split into three companies with independent equity and personnel. From then on, the computer and video game factory, telephone factory, and AV factory became completely independent companies with their own equity and personnel structures. However, at that time, the three companies could still share about 80% of the original BBK channels, and the brand operation of BBK was still managed by the headquarters.[5]

Oppo's subsidiaries include OnePlus and Realme.[6][7] Vivo's subsidiaries include iQOO (a sub-brand of Vivo).[8][9] It also marketed Blu-ray players, headphones, headphone amplifiers and smartwatches under Oppo Digital brand.[10][11] In March 2019, BBK Electronics announced imoo as its newest member and also a performance sub-brand.[12]

BBK Electronics' headquarters and production base were located in Chang'an, Dongguan.[13] It was the biggest taxpayer in Chang'an.[14]

In Q1 2017, BBK Electronics shipped 56.7 million smartphones, surpassing Huawei and Apple to become the 2nd largest smartphone manufacturer in the world, behind Samsung.[15]

In 2020, BBK Electronics represented by Oppo, announced its involvement in independent research and development of chips.[16] Vivo also followed up to manufacture chips, mainly in cooperation with MediaTek.[17]

As of October 2022, BBK Electronics' Chinese-market website redirects to its subsidiary, Guangdong Little Genius Limited Technology Corporation, a manufacturer of smartwatches marketed for children.[18]

Notes

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  1. ^ Bu Bu Gao (步步高) is a Chinese phrase that means "rising step by step", or "reaching a higher level with each step".

References

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  1. ^ "Profile". Bloomberg. Archived from the original on 21 September 2018. Retrieved 29 October 2014.
  2. ^ "会员登录 - 企查查". www.qcc.com. Retrieved 2 November 2023.
  3. ^ "OnePlus, Realme, will split as parent company BBK Electronics". 6 June 2023.
  4. ^ "爱企查". aiqicha.baidu.com. Baidu Aiqicha. Retrieved 28 October 2022.
  5. ^ a b "蓝绿两厂的前世今生—— vivo 和 OPPO 之历史溯源".
  6. ^ "The OnePlus 6 is more than just a rebranded OPPO". 15 June 2015. Archived from the original on 22 December 2019. Retrieved 31 January 2019.
  7. ^ Wong, Shine (26 April 2014). "Picture proving Oneplus is wholly-owned sub-brand of OPPO". Gizmochina. Archived from the original on 27 June 2020. Retrieved 6 May 2020.
  8. ^ "Taking on Xiaomi's POCO, BBK Group launches iQOO brand in India". The News Minute. 24 January 2020. Archived from the original on 5 March 2021. Retrieved 25 February 2021.
  9. ^ "vivo's sub brand, iQOO set to enter India with 5G smartphone". The Economic Times. 23 January 2020. Archived from the original on 14 May 2021.
  10. ^ Colin, David (7 July 2005). "A Winning Digital DVD Player". Projector Central. Archived from the original on 30 March 2019. Retrieved 13 January 2016. So who is OPPO? They certainly are not a household name and with good reason as OPPO is a newly created North American branch of BBK Electronics of China, a giant in the manufacture of consumer electronics, employing 12,000 people worldwide. So while OPPO is a new name, the company and the technology behind it are quite substantial.
  11. ^ Beamish, David. "Review: OPPO Digital DV-971H (US – DVD)". dvdactive. Archived from the original on 4 July 2018. Retrieved 13 January 2016. OPPO Digital are based in Mountain View, CA and are the US arm of BBK Electronics who are a huge Chinese market leader and who have been a private label OEM for companies such as Denon, NEC and BOSE. Manufacturing all sorts of electronics gear, BBK Electronics is a market leader in China and looking to expand globally hence the creation of their North American arm – OPPO Digital.
  12. ^ "imoo – a new brand for mobile phones emerges in China". Archived from the original on 27 September 2017. Retrieved 31 July 2016.
  13. ^ "INTRODUCTION TO BBK (OPPO) COMPANY". The People's Government of Chang’an Town. 18 June 2012. Archived from the original on 26 May 2016. Retrieved 29 October 2014.
  14. ^ "INTRODUCTION TO BBK (OPPO) COMPANY". The People's Government of Chang’an Town. 18 June 2012. Archived from the original on 26 May 2016. Retrieved 29 October 2014. BBK (OPPO) is a leading enterprise in Chinese electronic information industry with headquarters and production base set in Chang'an Town. It is the highest taxpayer of Chang'an.
  15. ^ "BBK is second largest smartphone manufacturer". Electronics Weekly. 26 May 2017. Archived from the original on 7 September 2017. Retrieved 19 June 2017.
  16. ^ "步步高系入局，OPPO造芯要过这七关|界面新闻 · JMedia". jiemian.com. Retrieved 17 June 2022.
  17. ^ 聯合新聞網 (21 April 2022). "vivo揭密自製影像晶片V1+ 更容易支援手機90fps或120fps呈現". 聯合新聞網 (in Chinese). Retrieved 17 June 2022.
  18. ^ "小天才官方网站". 小天才. Retrieved 28 October 2022.
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