Smartphone retailers call for price parity with Apple, Samsung and other phone brands

Mobile phone retail chains in South India such as Sangeetha Mobile, Poorvika and Big C among others have reached out to smartphone brands such as SamsungApple, Vivo, Oppo, Xiaomi and really on Tuesday asking brands to maintain price parity and the same promotions across online and brick-and-mortar stores during the upcoming holiday season.

The letter to the brands has been sent by the Organised Retailers Association of South India (ORA), which includes 21 mobile phone retail chains in the south with a total of 5,000 stores and a combined revenue of Rs 15,000 crore. ORA said in the letter that it makes 65% of its annual sales during the festive season. ET has seen a copy of the letter sent to the brands.

In the letter, ORA stated: “…we believe that maintaining price parity during this holiday season will ultimately benefit (the brand), ORA and customers by promoting equity and improving the overall customer experience.”

This comes just days after a neighborhood cell phone store industry group sent similar letters. All India Mobile Retailers Association (AIMRA) to Samsung, BitMotorola, Realme, OnePlusand Iqoo accuses these brands of favouring the online channel over the offline one. AIMRA represents more than 150,000 neighbourhood mobile stores, with total annual revenues of more than Rs 30 billion.

Amid fears that brands could offer huge discounts on e-commerce channels during the festive season and destroy retail stores’ business by up to half, AIMRA Founder and President Kailash Lakhyani said he is working with smartphone companies and has shared his concerns with the Commerce Minister. Piyush Goyalthe Ministry of Consumer Affairs and the Competition Commission of India.

Industry executives said smartphone brands are likely to offer massive discounts to boost sales during the festive season, which is the peak consumption period in India, as demand has been weak this year and inventory has piled up.