BBK Electronics

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 Corporation

Native name	广东步步高电子工业有限公司
Romanized name	Guangdong Bubugao Electronics Industry Co., Ltd.
Company type	Private[1]
Industry	Consumer electronics
Founded	18 September 1995; 29 years ago (1995-09-18)
Founder	Duan Yongping
Defunct	7 April 2023; 2 years ago (2023-04-07)
Fate	Split and deregistered
Successors	Oppo Vivo
Headquarters	Futian District, Shenzhen, China
Area served	Worldwide
Products	Smartphones Smart TVs Hi-Fi Home theatre Audiovisual
Brands	Oppo 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 meaning	Guangdong Bu Bu Gao Electronics Industrial Corporation Ltd.[a]
Transcriptions Standard Mandarin Hanyu Pinyin Guǎngdōng Bù Bù Gāo Diànzǐ Gōngyè Yǒuxiàn Gōngsī

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

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

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".