4500 stores across 23 retail chains in Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Maharashtra and Gujarat have decided to discontinue sales of OnePlus products including smartphones, tablets and wearables from May 1, due to unresolved issues of narrow profit margins, delays in claim processing and bundling, reported Moneycontrol.
Sridhar TS, president of South Indian Organised Retailers Association (ORA), said in his April 10 letter to OnePlus India’s director of sales, Ranjeet Singh, “Throughout the past year, we have encountered significant obstacles associated with selling OnePlus products, which remain unresolved. As esteemed partners, we had hoped for a more fruitful collaboration with OnePlus. Regrettably, the ongoing issues have left us with no alternative but to discontinue the sale of your products in our stores,” Moneycontrol reported.
Moneycontrol in their report said that they had seen a copy of the letter.
“ORA painfully wishes to inform our collective decision to halt the retail of OnePlus products in our establishments from 1st May, 2024,” he added.
ORA is the registered Organised Retail Association which has 23 members including Poorvika, Sangeetha, Big C, and Pooja in the Southern and Western regions.
“We have experienced instances where we are compelled to bundle products or services with OnePlus devices, limiting our flexibility and hindering our ability to cater to diverse customer needs. Consequently, this has resulted in stagnant inventory and loss of sales,” Sridhar said in the letter.
“Despite our persistent efforts to address these concerns with your company, little progress or resolution has been achieved. Promises made have not been fulfilled, leaving us with no recourse but to take this drastic measure,” he added.
Retailers also raised concerns over the unauthorised diversion of products from e-commerce to retail channels, which puts a hindrance in fund rotation, not allowing the exchequer to benefit from the added rotational GST.