With its headquarters in Dongguan, Guangdong, Vivo Communication Technology Co. Ltd. is a multinational technology firm based in China that creates and develops software, online services, smartphone accessories, and smartphones. The business creates software for its phones, made available through its V-Appstore. Its proprietary Android-based operating system, Origin OS in Mainland China and Funtouch OS worldwide, comes with iManager. Ten R&D facilities are located in Shenzhen, Dongguan, Nanjing, Beijing, Hangzhou, Shanghai, Xi’an, Taipei, Tokyo, and San Diego, and the company employs 10,000 people.
History of Vivo Mobile phone Company
Vivo was founded in 2009 and has grown its worldwide market to serve more than 400 million customers in more than 60 countries and regions with its mobile products and services.
Vivo debuted in the smartphone market in 2017 and expanded to Taiwan, Hong Kong, Macau, Russia, Brunei, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, and Nepal. The Vivo brand made its smartphone debut in Pakistan in June 2017. Since then, it has proliferated in popularity. Reference 10 Vivo declared that it will start selling its goods in Europe in October 2020.
The Vivo X60 features an imaging system co-developed with Zeiss.
Vivo was officially launched in Pakistan in 2017. Since then, the company has continued to bring smartphones and other products to the Pakistani market. On December 17, 2020, Vivo and Zeiss jointly announced a long-term strategic partnership to promote and develop groundbreaking innovations in mobile imaging technology. The Vivo X60 series introduces the first-ever “Vivo Zeiss co-developed imaging system.” As part of the collaboration agreement, Vivo and Zeiss established the Vivo Zeiss Imaging Lab, a joint research and development program to innovate mobile imaging technology for Vivo’s flagship smartphones. In 2023, Vivo ranked among the top five smartphone manufacturers, achieving a global market share of 10%. In April 2021, three pallets of Vivo mobile phones caught fire at Hong Kong International Airport, leading to a ban on air transport through Hong Kong. In June 2022, Vivo was included in the world-renowned Guinness Book of World Records by setting a record for the “longest video” by folding the company’s flagship device, the Vivo X Fold, more than 300,000 times for a total of 270hours, or 11 days and 6 hours.[16] In November 2023, Vivo announced the Blue operating system, an open-source distributed operating system for IoT smart devices and wearables, and the Vivo Watch 3 comes equipped with the new operating system.
Marketing journey of Vivo Mobile Phone Company
Vivo signed a two-year contract to sponsor the Indian Premier League (IPL) beginning in the 2016 season, and the agreement took effect in October 2015. The deal was renewed until 2022 in July 2017. However, the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) came under fire in India for permitting a Chinese corporation to be the league’s title sponsor during the 2020–2021 China–India clashes. Vivo and BCCI reached a mutual agreement to halt the deal for the 2020 season, with an option to pick back up the following year.
Vivo and FIFA signed a sponsorship agreement in June 2017 for Vivo to serve as the official smartphone brand of the FIFA World Cups in 2018 and 2022. The business also became the title sponsor of India’s Pro Kabaddi League. It inked an agreement with UEFA to be an official partner of UEFA Euro 2020 and UEFA Euro 2024.
Vivo sponsors Golden State Warriors player Stephen Curry in the NBA in China. In China and the Philippines, he is an advocate for the company. Vivo took over as Nepal Idol’s primary sponsor in March 2024. They were designated as the official smartphone brand of the TV show.
Controversies About Vivo Mobile Phone Company
IMEI and build number controversy in India
The Meerut Police’s cybercrime squad disclosed in June 2020 that over 13,500 Vivo cell phones in India were using the same IMEI number. The 15-digit IMEI number is designed to be specific to each mobile device communication administration. It can be used to track thieves or lost or stolen phones. Vivo made it more difficult for law enforcement to track down thieves or stolen property using the same IMEI number across many smartphones. The Indian Telecom Regulatory Authority declared 2017 that every mobile device must have an IMEI number. If this is not done, it will be deemed tampering, and you risk fines or maybe three years in jail.
The police filed a case against Vivo and its service center due to the occurrences. The malfunction allegedly occurred when a police officer handed his cell phone to the cybercrime section staff for review since it was not functioning correctly even after it had been fixed at a Vivo service center in Meerut. When the cybercrime section discovered that the device’s IMEI number did not match the one on the box, it forwarded the IMEI number to an unnamed telephone company that provided the handset’s telecommunications services and requested the pertinent information. The company stated that 13,557 mobile phones throughout several states were using the same IMEI number as of September 24, 2019. According to reports, the Meerut police filed a case under Section 420 of the Indian Penal Code. They sent Vivo India’s nodal officer, Harmanjit Singh, a notice under Section 91 of the CrPC.
In India, accusations of tax evasion regarding Vivo Mobile Phone Company
In July 2022, Vivo’s offices were searched by the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence of India (DRI), which then charged the firm with tax evasion. It is believed that the corporation sent over half of its revenue outside of India. The Enforcement Directorate also banned the company’s bank accounts to stop more money laundering. The FBI also discovered that 23 shell companies were formed in India by some Chinese top officials of Vivo with the assistance of chartered accountant Nitin Grg. It has been discovered that these twenty-three firms sent enormous sums of money to Vivo India. Furthermore, Vivo India sent Rs 62,476 crore, or nearly 50% of the turnover, outside of India, primarily to China, out of the Rs 1,25,185 crore in total sale proceeds, according to a statement from the ED.[33][34] The chief of Vivo India’s administration was detained by the Enforcement Directorate in October 2023 on suspicion of money laundering.
