A large number of mobile phone wholesalers in China have written to Nokia to protest about fines the handset manufacturer has imposed after they allegedly sold phones outside their assigned territories.
On Tuesday, more than 100 wholesalers in Hunan and Shandong provinces sent a letter written by a lawyer to Nokia, accusing the company of monopolizing prices to get windfall profits, reported the official news agency, Xinhua - citing a report in Beijing News.
The dealers say Nokia's policies may be a violation of Chinese law and added that they will sue Nokia if the world's largest handset seller does not give them a "satisfactory response."
Earlier this month, 40 dealers in the Communications Market in Jinan, Shandong Province, hung a red banner saying "Boycott Nokia" in front of the mall, the fifth largest cell phone wholesale and retail market in China. Some Nokia distributors in Shanghai have also shifted to other brands, reported Dongfang Daily.
In response, Nokia said in a statement that it doesn't have business relationships with the protesting distributors and Nokia will not negotiate with them.
The wholesalers claim though that they are set excessively high targets that can only be met by enlarging their distribution coverage.
On the web: Xinhua
Posted to the site on 19th June 2009
Posted to: www.cellular-news.com/story/38094.php