South India customers may have a hard time buying OnePlus phones offline

If you reside in southern India and planning to buy a OnePlus phone from brick-and-mortar stores, you may have to face some issues. That is because some of the leading retail chains across different states in South India will stop selling OnePlus smartphones and other devices. According to a new report, Sangeetha Mobiles and Poorvika Mobiles, both of which have more than 1200 stores in India’s southern states, will take OnePlus products off shelves amid an ongoing scuffle with the company. Some other stores in western India are also following the lead to stop selling OnePlus phones.

What is brewing between OnePlus and concerned offline stores

Moneycontrol has reported that the South Indian Organised Retailers Association (ORA), which has Sangeetha Mobiles, Poorvika Mobiles, Big C, and Pooja among 23 members, has written a letter to OnePlus, complaining about several concerns. Addressed to Ranjeet Singh, sales director at OnePlus Technology India, the letter talks about how offline stores receive low profit margins on the sale of OnePlus products. ORA has also blamed OnePlus for approving warranty claims with much delay, impacting the relationship between the offline stores and their customers.

Then there are concerns regarding the logistics of immovable products that are impacting the model-specific bundling requirements, as well as unsold inventories with different retailers. ORA has also pointed out that customers are not satisfied with both OnePlus products and its service, leaving retailers prone to face the brunt. More than 4,500 stores in the southern and western states of Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Telangana, Karnataka, Maharashtra, and Gujarat are participating in the boycott of OnePlus products unless their complaints are addressed.

“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,” the report quoted Sridhar TS, president of ORA, as saying. “ORA painfully wishes to inform our collective decision to halt the retail of OnePlus products in our establishments from 1st May 2024.”

What can customers do?

If you are planning to buy a OnePlus smartphone or other device offline, you may have to visit OnePlus stores or other stores such as Croma and Reliance Digital. Alternatively, customers can buy a OnePlus phone online.