Is OnePlus Next? Offline Sales Ban Looms Large Across India
TL;DR
- Another Indian retail association has threatened to stop selling OnePlus products in the market.
- This could effectively result in OnePlus products not being sold offline across India.
- The threat comes after a smaller offline retail association said it would stop selling OnePlus products from May 1.
Things aren't looking good for OnePlus in India. After a southern Indian retailers' association (with 4,300 stores) announced they'd stop selling OnePlus phones starting May 1st, it seems the trouble could spread nationwide.
Another, much larger association representing over 150,000 Indian phone retailers (AIMRA) has also warned OnePlus that their members might stop selling their phones too. If that happens, it would be a massive blow to OnePlus, basically shutting down their offline sales across the whole country.
Why do Indian retailers want to drop OnePlus?
All India Mobile Retailers Association (AIMRA) threw their weight behind the South Indian Organized Retailers Association's (ORA) decision to stop selling OnePlus phones. They echoed ORA's concerns, stating that they too would halt sales of OnePlus products nationwide "if issues are unresolved."
AIMRA's frustration stemmed from a feeling of neglect by OnePlus, claiming a lack of support for their business and unfulfilled commitments. This threat carries significant weight, as AIMRA represents over 150,000 offline retailers across India, compared to ORA's 4,300. If enacted, this could essentially shut down all of OnePlus' physical sales channels in the country.
For years, OnePlus India has neglected mainline retailers by failing to provide adequate stocks, offering poor margins, settling claims poorly, failing to deliver commitments and lacking a meaningful relationship with retailers in India (no demos, no promoters, no market visits overall, no SOPs) demonstrating neglect.
An industry group raised concerns that OnePlus may have been inflating their sales figures by selling phones through unauthorized channels. We reached out to OnePlus to ask about these allegations and what would happen to customers if the company stopped selling phones in stores, but we haven't heard back from them yet.
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