Chinese smartphone maker Oppo is retrenching employees in South Africa amid a slowdown in global smartphone sales.
The company confirmed the job cuts after a source told ITWeb that a total of 13 employees in different roles had been impacted.
Oppo did not disclose the number of employees that will be retrenched.
“Oppo South Africa can confirm that it is undertaking a review of its operating structure to ensure the business remains aligned to current market conditions and its long-term priorities in the country,” it says.
“As part of this process, a limited number of roles have been affected. The process is being handled in line with South African labour requirements, and with care and respect for the employees involved.
“We are not in a position to comment on individual employee matters, or on the specific number of employees impacted at this stage.
“South Africa remains an important market for Oppo, and this process does not change our commitment to our customers, partners and continued operations in the country.”
Oppo officially launched in South Africa in September 2020, opening its Johannesburg headquarters and introducing the A72 as its first locally available smartphone.
South Africa’s smartphone market is dominated by Samsung, which controls roughly 46% to 51% of total market and active device usage, according to Stat Counter Global Stats.
Apple ranks second, holding approximately 17% to 28% of the user base, while Huawei follows closely in third with around 10%.
It adds that the remaining market share is fiercely contested by growing Chinese and alternative brands, particularly Xiaomi, Honor, Oppo and Transsion (Tecno, Infinix).
Challenging conditions
Arnold Ponela, senior research analyst at IDC, comments that Oppo experienced a significant decline in unit shipments during 2025 as challenging market conditions and weaker consumer demand continued to weigh on its performance.
He explains that the decline was primarily driven by weaker sales in the entry-level segment, while stronger volumes in the $200-$300 price band improved the product mix and partially offset the impact on revenue.
“Despite this resilience in the mid-range segment, the vendor continues to face intense competition and subdued consumer spending, limiting its ability to return to sustained shipment growth,” says Ponela.
The South African smartphone market contracted year-on-year in Q1 2026, reflecting the typical post-holiday slowdown after a strong Q4 2025, he adds.
He notes that the decline was driven mainly by supply-side constraints rather than demand challenges, as global memory chip shortages increased component costs. “This forced vendors to raise prices and adjust product specifications, with premium brands better able to absorb the cost increases while value-focused vendors faced greater pressure.”
Ponela points out that the South African smartphone market is expected to come under greater pressure in Q2 2026 as rising fuel and shipping costs, tighter memory and battery supply, a weaker rand, and persistently high interest rates increase cost pressures across the value chain.
“These factors are expected to squeeze vendor margins, limit product availability and place further upward pressure on device pricing, particularly in the entry-level segment.”
Steady but small
Christopher Henschel, general manager at smartphone dealer Cellucity Group, says Oppo has maintained a steady small market share in the company’s channel.
“Initially, they focused their marketing efforts on the premium sector of the market, and after fine-tuning our combined strategies, we seem to have found a sweet spot in the mid-tier market sector and they are seeing some consistent results.”
According to Henschel, generally the smartphone market has been under a lot of pressure this year and this will only be exacerbated as the memory pricing makes entry-level smartphones significantly more expensive.
He believes this will compound the problems for the smaller brands that are trying to build market share.
“However, we are seeing a very strong growth in the pre-owned category, where consumers would prefer to purchase a second-hand premium Apple or Samsung device rather than a new mid-tier device. This further complicates matters for OEM [original equipment manufacturer] brands trying to gain market share.
“Lastly, with the prices of devices increasing dramatically, we are also seeing a renewed interest in trade-in offers from the manufacturers and we are slowly starting to see consumers embrace the trade-in mechanism to make their tech upgrades more affordable,” says Henschel.
Share
