Rejig at OnePlus India amid offline boycott woes; Chinese exec named India CEO despite govt push for local talent

Robin-Liu_OnePlus

Chinese smartphone brand OnePlus has brought back veteran Robin Liu to head its India operations amid an internal reshuffle following the departure of key Indian and Chinese executives in senior positions. This change comes as Oppo's sub-brand faces a boycott from offline retailers in the country.

OnePlus’s head of offline business, Samrudh Pai, left the company, while Ranjeet Singh, sales director, has been moved to lead the online business. Lincle Peng, a Chinese executive who was at the helm of OnePlus’ India operations, has also left, sources told Moneycontrol on the condition of anonymity.

Robin, who most recently served as the chief executive of the North American region, was the head of sales for India for around 19 months till January 2022.

Despite the Indian government's push to appoint local talent in top decision-making roles, many Chinese handset brands have yet to actively pursue this initiative due to ongoing scrutiny and legal concerns. Notably, OnePlus has once again appointed a Chinese executive to lead its Indian operations.

Since the departure of Navnit Nakra in June 2023, OnePlus India has not had an Indian executive leading its local operations.

READ MORE: Offline retailers accuse OnePlus of offering lowest margins, delaying settlement claims

OnePlus, which merged operations with Oppo in 2021 and became a sub-brand of the latter, has been facing problems with offline trade, also known as the general trade sector.

Confirming the appointment of Robin Liu as the India CEO, a OnePlus spokesperson said the brand has also appointed Ramagopala Reddy as Vice President for the OnePlus India region. He was previously involved in the brand's R&D initiatives and product development efforts in India.

"...we continue to have a robust and stable India leadership team in place whose expertise and innovative efforts continue to drive stable operations in the region across all functions," the spokesperson informed Moneycontrol.

The Indian leadership now reports to Max Chen, a former vice president of Oppo. who is based in China.

In April, 23 retail chains in Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Maharashtra, and Gujarat decided to discontinue sales of OnePlus products from May 1 due to unresolved issues regarding narrow profit margins, delays in claim processing, and bundling.

READ MORE: Mobile retail chains to discontinue sale of OnePlus devices

The boycott extended to many states in the northern region of the country for similar reasons. In February this year, retailers across the country alleged that the unauthorized diversion of products from e-commerce to retail channels disrupts fund rotation and denies the exchequer the opportunity to benefit from added rotational GST.

The South Indian Organised Retailers Association (ORA) has once again alleged that OnePlus continues to favor online stock distributions to aggregators who then sell to retailers, bypassing the establishment of robust distribution channels. “Historically, OnePlus has not shown a serious commitment to conducting legal business in the General Trade (GT) sector.”

In a communication to the All India Mobile Retailers Association and its own members, ORA said, “We wish to inform you of significant changes in the top management of OnePlus. Due to these changes, the old management provided us with false assurances, likely because they were leaving their positions. However, they will have to face us again in other brands.”

ORA further said OnePlus remains a loss-making venture for both the Indian government and retailers. “...we need to prioritize the long-term health of our business and not compromise on quality for short-term gains. Historically, OnePlus has not shown a serious commitment to conducting legal business in the General Trade (GT) sector.”

Retailers have reported that while OnePlus has settled 80-90% of their claims, 10-20% of claims from ORA members remain pending. "These were supposed to be resolved by May 15, but due to OnePlus's inefficient payment system, they have yet to be fully cleared. Consequently, ORA members have not purchased any stock since April 18, 2024," a person told Moneycontrol.

Responding to Moneycontrol's query on ORA and AIMRA allegations, the brand spokesperson said, "we continue to strengthen our mainline presence and continue to expand our presence with partners like Reliance Digital, Reliance My Jio Stores, Croma, Vijay Sales, Bajaj Electronics and many more."