OnePlus came out from nowhere early this year and it caught the attention of enthusiasts with its high-end flagship smart phone at a very attractive price from under RM1,000. In an interview with Forbes, OnePlus co-founder Carl Pei has shared that the company has so far sold more than 500,000 units and they are aiming for a stretched goal of 1 million by end 2014.
1 million may not sound much compared to Xiaomi’s 19 million units sold to date, but it is still a significant feat for a company that’s unheard of 7 months ago and has just one smart phone model available. According to Carl, their margins are very thin at single digit (USD) per unit and they spend very minimal (just USD300) on advertising. OnePlus hopes that its new accessory and lifestyle products will make up for the small profits from their smart phones in the long run.
Like Xiaomi, OnePlus conducts exclusive online sales which initially started as invitation only and now they have switched to pre-orders. If you’re planning to get an official unit (non-grey import) locally, OnePlus is heading to Malaysia and they are organising their first official fan gathering this Saturday afternoon. Their flagship OnePlus One has already passed its SIRIM certification, which means that it will be on sale very soon.
