OnePlus is facing intense pressure from offline retailers in India, and reports claim the company could lose its connection with these sellers in the country. Earlier this month it was reported that the South Indian Organized Retailers Association (ORA) will remove OnePlus phones from over 4,500 stores in select parts of the country from May 1 onwards.
ORA had even sent a formal complaint to OnePlus executives earlier this week, stating that until the issues regarding OnePlus warranty and margins are not resolved, retailers will decide against selling OnePlus phones at their stores
But now, the main national retailer body has intervened and decided that the brand could be off the market from all states in the country. As per a report here, the All India Mobile Retailers Association (AIMRA) is ready to act on OnePlus and extend the ban on selling of its phones across 150,000 stores in the country.
OnePlus might have felt less pressurised when only some regions in India were going to face the sales ban but AIMRA entering the picture makes it a complete sales ban, which is not good news at all. The retailer body has been quoted saying that OnePlus has neglected the mainline retailers in the country, not giving them enough stocks to sell, and even offer lower margins than other brands.
It also points out that OnePlus does not have a meaningful relationship with the retailers which is never ideal if a company wants its phones to sell through the offline channel in the country. OnePlus has claimed to be one of the top-sellers via online channels but its focus on the offline market seems to have wavered which seems to have caused this displeasure among the retailers in the country. The company needs to make sure the spat with retailers ends quickly or it could face the prospect of going AWOL from the Indian mobile stores.
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