The All India Mobile Retailers Association (AIMRA) on Tuesday said mobile phone sellers across various states have been affected due to short supply of OnePlus smartphones, especially the 11R and CE3 Lite models.
In a letter to OnePlus India director of sales Ranjeet Singh, AIMRA’s national joint general secretary Navneet Pathak said, “there are ample stocks of OnePlus products available in the grey market, which are being sold at lower prices.”
AIMRA represents over 150,000 mobile retailers across the country.
According to the association, the supply of OnePlus smartphones is low as distributors are using the system’s loophole smartly and diverting the stocks to the grey market as a part of organisational strategy. The same, however, is destroying the complete consumer experience and damaging the market.
The retailers association also raised concern over the survival and growth of the brand in India owing to dependency on e-commerce and competition from brands.
In the letter, it said, “OnePlus is losing its market share and brand value in the mainline segment, which is still the dominant channel in India.”
“OnePlus faces stiff competition from brands like Apple, Samsung, Vivo, Xiaomi, and its parent Oppo, offering better products, prices, margins, promotions, and services to customers and retailers,” Pathak said, adding that the company has launched a series of flop models, such as Fold, Nord 3 and CE 3 that failed to impress customers and generate sales.
The retailers association also highlighted various challenges to OnePlus and sought immediate attention. It said some distributors are bundling OnePlus products with other slow products or accessories, which is against the company policy and unfair to other retailers.
OnePlus could not be immediately reached for comments.
Among other issues, retailers also flagged challenges with regard to advance payments they have to make to distributors for purchasing smartphone stock. Even after advance payments, the distributors supply products three to seven days from the date of payments, with no one to hear from the brand side, AIMRA said.
“This is creating a liquidity problem at such low margins and affecting cash flows,” Pathak said, adding that OnePlus should consider introducing a credit facility or a payment gateway for the retailers, which will ease the cash pressure and improve the cash cycle.
Besides, retailers are disappointed with the delayed settlement of claims by OnePlus India, wherein it takes over six months to settle such claims, Pathak said in the letter.
According to IDC, OnePlus’ smartphone market share in India as of September 2023 was at 6.2%.
The retailers association said that the brand must reassess the mainline strategy, implement robust SOPs (standard operating procedures) and expertise to enhance output and development.