Realme left the ballast in France in 2022 before returning to the door of the French market in 2024. Why this twist? Where is the realme ship going? We asked these questions to two brand managers, one in France and the other in Europe.
At the end of 2022, Realme France ended much of its activity in France, as it was written at the time Frandroid. The company predates its sister brand, Oppo, which slammed the door on the French market in July 2023 before announcing his comeback this month june 2024. Just like Oppo, Realme is in the process of rebuilding a small team of five people in France. Should we believe this actor who leaves and returns? How can we explain this curious choice? We spoke to two representatives of the brand to try to see more clearly.
“I didn’t know the products before I started at Realme”
Julien Lidoin, Realme France’s new commercial director, has a knack for selling. Sitting in a Milanese bistro, he answers all questions with a good-natured smile on his lips. The old one Manager from Wiko even admits: “I didn’t know the products before I started, but my kids did! »
When he talks about his customers, he doesn’t talk about you, but about distributors, of which, he assures, there are already a large number of people who trust Realme again. Leclerc, Auchan, Systeme U, Boulanger, etc. they would already be on board. It’s not easy, but the man assures us: “They didn’t feel left out. We have retained several key positions in distribution and inventory management, we have responded without letting them manage inventory on their own. »
The rest: Top 4 for three years, but no forcing
But in an increasingly competitive and, shall we say, somewhat disposable market, how can you stand out from the duopoly of Samsung and Apple? As is often the case with Chinese brands, the manager of Realme for France answers in three points:
- Price aggressiveness
- A commercial proposition that lives up to expectations
- A datasheet/price ratio that aims to be among the best on the market
As things are well done, the recent launch of Realme GT6 matches this strategy. On paper, this smartphone benefits from a spec sheet equivalent to that of a Honor 200 Pro but 200 euros more expensive.
In May 2022, Realme entered the Top 5 of the biggest smartphone sellers in France, even reaching the Top 4 in certain quarters. Therefore, the brand’s ambitions are aligned with this result: “Our goal is to stick to what we know at the European level. After 3 years top 4 is very much achievable,” – says the forty-year-old smiling.
The Marseille player knows that to achieve such a result, he will have to convince in the reserve. Despite the development of online sales, « 80 to 90% of sales are still made in-store » he assures. Therefore, the next investment in France will be the creation of a new commercial force, « Essential if we want to exist in the market ». In early 2025, Realme France should start working with it.
Why did Realme leave only to return so soon after?
Faced with these over-ambitions, one question plagues us: should we really hit the brakes in 2022? We put the question to Jason Guo, Head of Europe. Traditionally, to explain the departure, those responsible for Realme and Oppo cited patent problems with Nokia. This is despite the fact that Nokia lost its case against Oppo and Realme in France and that therefore there was never a real patent issue in France. And for the first time, the person in charge did not refer to Nokia.
“We have limited resources and we had to make a choice. We preferred to focus on markets where we are really strong in Europe, such as Italy, Poland or Spain. We maintained activity in France in distribution, for example, but it is true that we stopped the releases. » Apparently, Jason Guo suggests that the closure of the French branch is not related to Nokia, but rather to the difficult economic situation of 2022 and 2023.
But then what to think of the return?”Now we have more resources and Europe remains a very important market for us. The French market in particular is one of the most important. With these resources we want to recreate a team in place, but we will start with a smaller team. » Step by step, Realme will learn to walk before it wants to run.
This article was written as part of a press conference organized by Realme in Milan. The brand did not interfere in its writing.