As per the latest report from IDC on the Chinese smartphone market, Oppo and Vivo managed to overtake Huawei for the first time in the third quarter of 2016. The report states that the Chinese smartphone market grew 3.6 percent sequentially in Q3, 2016.

The IDC report details Oppo’s growth and says that it is not an overnight growth as many people have been led to believe. Before 2014, when OEMs like Samsung, Lenovo, and Coolpad were dominating the Chinese market by selling their phones through operators and by offering heavy subsidies, Oppo focused on expanding its offline presence in the country, especially in tier-3 and tier-5 cities. As the smartphone market exploded in the country, Xiaomi took advantage of the e-commerce wave for its growth before other OEMs followed suit.

Now, with the smartphone market in China also saturating, the growth comes largely from smaller cities where Oppo (and Vivo) have a strong presence. Additionally, Oppo’s aggressive marketing and features like VOOC and elegant design have also helped its products click with Chinese consumers.

“Oppo’s success is not something that was achieved overnight. Back in the earlier years when vendors depended on operator subsidy to grow, Oppo was clear in its direction and focused on expanding its offline channels. It also had key strengths such as its VOOC fast-charging technology and in the elegant design of its phones. This, coupled with its aggressive marketing tactics, helped it succeed in the market,” said Xiaohan Tay, senior market analyst of client devices research for IDC Asia/Pacific.

The same technique has worked well for Oppo and Vivo in India as well where both companies have been dominating sales in smaller-tier cities.

Oppo shipped 20.1 million units in Q3, 2016 and grabbed 17.5 percent of the market share. In the same period, Huawei shipped 18 million units that accounted for 15.7 percent of the market share.

Huawei dropped behind Oppo and Vivo in China, but its products like the P9 are enjoying a strong momentum in the country. Apple’s share is also expected to increase in the fourth quarter of 2016 thanks to the launch of the iPhone 7.