Apple retailers asked to report on distributors’ forced bundle sales of iPhones

The Vietnam Competition and Consumer Authority has requested Apple Authorized Resellers (AARs) to report on their distributors’ “forced bundle sales” of iPhones.

Some AARs said that amid the shortage of the iPhone 14 in Vietnam, they have had to import other Apple products in bundling packages. These associated items include AirPods, Apple Watch smartwatches, Apple Pencil accessories, Magic House, and MacBook Air M1.

An AAR who asked not to be named said in order to have 10 iPhone 14 Pro and Pro Max, it had to import 200 AirPods, 100 Apple Watches, 50 Apple Pencils, and other items in the same deal.

Another AAR complained it had to buy a massive number of MacBooks without any feasible sale plans.

The authority (VCCA), under Vietnam's Ministry of Industry and Trade, asked AARs to clarify on the ratio of non-iPhone items in their deals, details of bundle sales, possible negative impacts, and others.

Apple products in Vietnam are delivered to retailers by four major firms - Viettel, FPT Retail, Digiworld, and Petrosetco.

The iPhone is among the most popular smartphones in Vietnam. According to a Ministry of Industry and Trade report for 2021, Vietnam spent $3.17 billion on importing phones that year, up 70.8% year-on-year, including $1.23 billion on iPhones, up 159.58%, leading the list.

The second highest was Samsung with $863.3 million, up 66.67%. Other top brands included OPPO with $426.12 million, Xiaomi with $273.18 million, and Vivo with $206.73 million.

However, in terms of device sales, Samsung topped the list with 5.3 million phones, or 33.3% of the market share in 2021, according to a report by market researcher International Data Corporation. Other top brands were OPPO with 17.5%, Xiaomi with 12.7%, Vivo with 11.7%, and Apple with 8.9%.

IDC Vietnam attributed the results to Apple being a luxury brand while Samsung and others offered a variety of products.