Festive Sales: Offline Mobile & Electronics Retailers Call For Level Playing Field With Ecommerce Players

In a fresh development, offline cellphone and electronics retailers have asked mobile and electronic brands including Samsung, LG, Xiaomi, Realme, Oppo, Vivo, Sony and Whirlpool for a level-playing field with ecommerce players over the issue of steep discounting or disrupting pricing that the online sellers offer on ecommerce platforms. Otherwise, the offline retailers may completely boycott sales of those brands, ET reported.

Organised Retailers Association is meeting all the mobile phone brands to chalk out a level-playing field for the offline as well online channels, TS Sridhar, president, of the organisation informed.

Organised Retailers Association is a body of 18 cellphone retail chains that includes top retailers such as Sangeetha, Poorvika and Big C.

The association is hell-bent on its position that if the brands do not comply, it would opt for total boycotting of sales as it is of the view that online disruptive pricing damages the entire market.

With the same demand, 40 leading electronic retail chains have sent a joint letter to leading mobile brands. In addition, to meet this objective, small and large cell phone stores have also started meeting senior management of the smartphone brands.

In the last two pandemic-stricken years, the online retailers could not offer significant discounts as supplies were lower than demand. Hence, the offline channels were also not very vocal about the issue. However, now the retailers fear that there could be heavy discounting on online channels from the manufacturers to clear unsold inventory, as well as new stock.

Even during the Independence Day sales, the online discounts were higher, the offline retailers claimed.

In addition, general trade mobile phone stores have also met Xiaomi officials under the aegis of All India Mobile Retailers Association (AIMRA). The association represents over 1.2 Lakh small retail stores. 

“We fear this year brands will resort to heavy online discounting to clear inventory which has piled up. Hence, we are meeting all brands to request them to maintain channel hygiene,” Arvinder Khurana, president of AIMRA, said as quoted in the report.

Moreover, major electronic retail chains including Great Eastern, Girias, Adishwar, Kohinoor, Pai International and Viveks that are part of Association of Consumer Electronics and Home Appliances Traders, sent a letter to all these brands.

They have alleged that similar models with a different name are being sold by brands on online platforms and brand e-stores at lower than their cost price.

“We request you to correct this anomaly at once and give us an equal footing, leading to a level-playing field so that all channels can co-exist,” the letter said.

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