It’s generally not a good idea to bite the hand that feeds you. Well, the largest reseller in France is doing just that with a new lawsuit launched against Cupertino. Will the lawsuit open the floodgates for other Apple resellers that have notoriously felt the cold shoulder, or is this just the cost of selling the hottest tech gear in the world?
Let's hear a little "dun dun" and dig in to this week's Law and Apple to find out more...
eBizcuss, the largest Apple reseller in France, launched a lawsuit against Apple last week, claiming Cupertino competes unfairly in the retail world. According to lawsuit, Apple routinely favors its own retail stores with inventory and offers business customers deeply discounted packages that resellers cannot realistically match.
Francois Prudent, eBizcuss CEO, claims his company suffered a 30 percent decline in the third quarter of 2011, primarily due to limited shipments of iPad 2 and MacBook Air devices. Prudent also claims that his 16 locations were also unable to obtain iPhone 4S devices during the fourth quarter. Apparently, these supply shortages began in 2009 when Apple opened its first retail store in France. Prudent goes on to claim that Apple offers pricing to commercial customers at lower prices than resellers are able to purchase inventory at wholesale, so that in order to compete resellers like eBizcuss would have to take a loss to match Apple’s direct pricing.
We are not Apple, but we sell Apple products, and insist on being treated like Apple employees. Fair, right?
Prudent states that he is a big Apple supporter, and was one of the first importers of the Apple II computer in 1977. His business has also spent $6.5 million since 2007 to revamp their point-of-sale systems, at Apple’s request, to meet Cupertino’s criteria. However, when so much of your business model is based on offering Apple products, it seems counterproductive to drag your moneymaker into the courtroom.
This case is also being watched by other resellers in Europe, many of whom claim to have experienced similar treatment from Apple, which leads others to believe that a pan-European class action suit against Apple is not out of the question. However, some resellers have indicated that these issues are standard practice when reselling for Apple, and companies have understood this from the get-go.
Apple’s partners "are aware of the rules of engagement with Apple," according to Dave Stevinson, who works with Apple reseller VIP Computers in the United Kingdom. He adds that they "know exactly how to make money from selling Apple [hardware]."
Once upon a time, resellers were the easiest and best way to get the latest Apple products. But with the rapid success of the Apple retail stores, as well as Apple's own website, that is clearly no longer the case. One suspects that if the legal bills mount up in cases like this, an easy way for Cuperino to make it all go away would be to simply shut down the reseller channel. Chilling.
Via AppleInsider
Adrian writes the weekly Law & Apple column for MacLife.com. You can follow him on Twitter or subscribe to him on Facebook, if you want to.
