OnePlus is facing a huge problem in India after mobile retailers confirmed that they would be discontinuing selling the brand’s smartphones, tablets, and wearables starting on May 1. According to the letter from the retailers, the issues involved low-profit margins, warranty claim delays, and forced unfavorable bundling.
The retailers voiced their decision through the letter sent by the South Indian Organised Retailers Association (ORA) to Ranjeet Singh, Sales Director at OnePlus India. According to the retailers, there are several issues involved that pushed theme to the decision.
“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. ORA painfully wishes to inform our collective decision to halt the retail of OnePlus products in our establishments from 1st May, 2024,” the ORA letter reads.
Of the different reasons the retailers have, however, ORA shared that forced product bundling, warranty and service claim warranty claim delays, and low profit margins ultimately caused the move. Moreover, it was shared in the letter that the problems have been present for quite some time now, only for OnePlus to fail to address all of them.
“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,” ORA President Sridhar TS shared in the letter. “Throughout the past year, we have encountered significant obstacles associated with selling OnePlus products, which remain unresolved.”
According to the letter, due to the failure to address the problems with OnePlus, the burden and the customers’ frustration fall on their shoulders. This is somewhat unsurprising as OnePlus also made the headlines before due to other issues involving delayed settlement claims and delayed supplies. Also, it is no secret that the brand has an insufficient number of people on its team, with earlier reports claiming only about 400 individuals are working for the company in India.
The move will affect 4,500 stores across 6 states in India, including Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Maharashtra, and Gujarat. As mentioned before, the move will start on the first day of next month.
