Trouble seems to be increasing for Chinese handset makers in Europe as Vivo has now been stopped from selling handsets in Germany, in the wake of the court ruling in a patent fight with Nokia, which Vivo lost, media reports say. According to WinFuture, due to the court case ruling, Vivo will be barred from selling smartphones in Germany, joining other handset makers by Chinese tech behemoth BBK's OnePlus and Oppo.
As per Vivo's website, “Vivo products are currently not available in Germany”. The company also confirms that customer support and software updates will continue for buyers who have already purchased a device in the country. The Vivo Germany website has no products listed on it. The Vivo website in the country has been effectively wiped off as well.
Reports suggest that Vivo has a chance to keep selling its phones in Germany if it worked out a licensing agreement with Nokia, but the handset maker, just like Oppo and OnePlus, has opted not to do so at this point.
Meanwhile, in a bid to reduce costs, Vivo in March reportedly decided to merge iQoo into its main business. Vivo reportedly said the merger of both brands into one is also to 'boost efficiency'. It was said that the brand will be laying off some of its staff during the merger of the two handset makers.
According to a report by publication 36 Krypton, Vivo has been trying to combine iQoo's branding and online business teams with its own teams. The report cited a source close to the development and mentioned that Vivo's management is mulling to merge iQoo's brand, media strategy and other teams with its existing teams.
“The internal bosses are still struggling. What is the positioning of iQOO in the future and how to integrate the team are still uncertain,” a former employee was quoted as saying by 36 Krypton.