Samsung retailers in Pune to protest against handset firm over uncleared dues, ET Retail

[ad_1]

New Delhi: Samsung retailers in the rest of Maharashtra region have called for a protest in Pune against the South Korean smartphone major over uncleared dues to the tune of Rs 50 crore pending for over a year.

State retailer association has raised concerns over inaction within Samsung’s teams after making commitments of clearing the pending dues which arose due to a change in guard in distributorship in the region.

Samsung ended a long-standing distributor relationship with SSK, which is part of the Syska group in March 2023 in Maharashtra, appointing two new distributors — Bengaluru-based ABM Group and Kolkata-based Karuna Marketing, ET reported last year in June.

The resulting fallout from the disruption has left retailers in the region in the lurch over receiving incentive due to them for meeting sales targets during the transition period.

“The abrupt removal of a distributor in March 2023 left the entire market underserved, exacerbating the situation by leaving numerous retail claims unresolved. Despite assurances from brand representatives, over 50 Cr in outstanding claims remain unsettled for over a year,” the All India Mobile Retailer Association representing over 1.5 lakh mobile retailers in the country said in a letter to Samsung sent Monday.

“This issue stems from a significant change in distribution, resulting in substantial outstanding claims remaining unresolved at Samsung’s end,” the letter added.

Samsung did not respond to emails seeking comment till the time of publishing.

Separately, the Maharashtra unit of AIMRA has called for a protest at the Pune office of the Korean company on April 16.

“These pending claims of January-March 2023 have been blocking huge money from retailer’s pockets for a year, impacting their financial stability, business operations and trust in the brand,” the state unit said in a letter to the company on April 5.

This, after repeated attempts to follow-up with retailers claiming false assurances have been given by the company with no action taken since a year.