In a development concerning the coveted Oneplus devices, retail chains in India have said that they will cease the sale of devices from 1 May. This move is said to be a result of dispute between the company and retailers.
Dispute Over Margins
The dispute in focus is with regards to the profit margins that the retailers are accruing from the sale of the phone, as they are reported to be low, as compared to others.
This scheduled embargo will be in place in some major, consequential markets including in the states of Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, and Gujarat. It is to be noted, that, these are some of the most influential and financially bulky states with greater purchasing power.
Shops to Stop Selling Oneplus Devices
This means that all Oneplus devices including mobiles, tablets and earphones will not be available across 4,500 stores in the aforementioned states.
Oneplus has come a long way from being a company that made devices for a specific target audience of ultra-tech enthusiasts to expanding into other avenues breaking its own mold.
Apart from narrow profit margins, some other issues that according to the retailers, continue to remain untangled. These bottlenecks issues are concerned with the delays in claim processing and bundling, stagnant inventory, which in turn results in sale losses. According to Moneycontrol, these details emerged from a letter that was written by The South Indian Organised Retailers Association (ORA) to Oneplus.
Earlier this year, retailers had even accused the company of unauthorized diversion of their in-demand products from e-commerce to retail channels of disrupting fund rotation. In today's world, retailers face a rather stiff competition from e-commerce giants, and instances like these only add to the retail chains' conundrum. This development could be seen as a move to stabilize the ship in the waters, that is already turbulent.
