iPhone 15 discounts are a new problem for Apple in India- Read ‘action letter’ by mobile retailers association

AIMRA accuses Apple of monopolistic practices by offering higher cashback to select stores on iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 15 Pro Max, causing sales concerns and unfair competition.

Apple faces allegations of promoting anti-competitive practices by the AIMRA. (Bloomberg)

The All India Mobile Retailers Association (AIMRA) on Monday accused Apple of promoting monopolistic practices by only allowing certain stores to offer huge cashback on iPhones. Calling it “discriminatory pricing”, the AIMRA, which represents 1.5 lakh mobile retailers around the country, has accused the iPhone maker of hurting sales with its exclusive offers.

Apple accused of monopolistic practices

Just a few days ago, Apple announced cashback offers on the iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 15 Pro Max, where buyers could get up to Rs. 10000 off as cashback. However, this offer was only limited to Apple Stores and large-scale retailers. For all other retailers, the offer was limited to only Rs. 3000 on the same models,

Not sure which
mobile to buy?

In a letter to Ashish Chowdhary, managing director of Apple India (seen by the Financial Express), Navneet Pathak, national joint general secretary at AIMRA called it an anti-competitive move that favoured a few, stressing that this “discrepancy not only poses a significant risk of loss in sales for the retail channels but also raises concerns of unfair competition.”

The AIMRA has urged Apple to rectify its promotional offers that promote fair competition. In an X post, AIMRA said, “Discriminatory offers hurt consumers' trust, which is unacceptable for retailers. We have asked @apple India for a level playing field.”

Read the full letter below:

It has come to our attention that LFRs and company's own stores are offering a substantial cashback of ₹10,000 on 15 Pro and 15 Pro Max models, while the retail channels are restricted to ₹3,000 on the same models. This is a purely anti-competitive move favouring a few. This discrepancy not only poses a significant risk of loss in sales for the retail channels but also raises concerns about unfair competition.

It may potentially divert our loyal customers to LFRs derogatorily. Such actions undermine the trust and confidence we have diligently built with our customers over time. We eagerly anticipate a prompt correction in the cash-back offer for the SKUs.

AIMRA firmly believes in fostering transparent and equitable business practices that uphold the interests of all stakeholders. We are committed to collaborating with Apple India to find constructive solutions that address these challenges while strengthening our partnership.”

One more thing! We are now on WhatsApp Channels! Follow us there so you never miss any updates from the world of technology. ‎To follow the HT Tech channel on WhatsApp, click here to join now!