BEYOND China few may have heard of OPPO or Vivo, but these local handset vendors are rising up the rankings in the world’s largest smartphone market, using local marketing savvy and strong retail networks in lower-tier cities.

    Industry experts say these cities — there are more than 600 of them and some are bigger than many European capitals — are the next smartphone battlefield as China’s major cities are saturated.

    International brands such as Apple and Samsung Electronics have mostly not yet reached this part of the market — which accounts for more than 56 percent of China’s overall consumption, according to Beijing All China Marketing Research.

    In an economy growing at its slowest pace in a quarter of a century, buyers in these smaller cities — with populations of up to 3 million — tend towards cheaper phones, which is good news for Guangzhou-based OPPO and Vivo, as well as Meizu Technology, an affiliate of Alibaba Group Holding.

    “OPPO and Vivo have already overtaken Samsung and ZTE Corp. in China, and are working to chase down the big three of Huawei, Xiaomi and Apple in 2016,” said Strategy Analytics analyst Neil Mawston.

    To be sure, these lower-priced newcomers lack the firepower of the premium brands, and operate on razor-thin margins or at losses. They need mass volume sales to keep going, the industry experts said.

    OPPO sold 10.8 million smartphones, giving it a 9 percent market share and a top-5 ranking, in the fourth quarter of last year, according to Strategy Analytics — even as the overall China market slipped 4 percent.

    OPPO’s R7 smartphone, priced at 1,999 yuan (US$304), touts itself as a “selfie expert,” with a bigger screen than the iPhone 6S and competitive camera resolution.

    Vivo ranked fourth with 10 percent market share, below Apple’s 13 percent.(SD-Agencies)