Samsung starts sending notifications press to phones whose manufacture was purchased on the gray market, to warn users that the device does not comply with Mexican regulations, is not under warranty and its functionality is impaired.
The initiative is part of an awareness campaign in which other manufacturers and players in the industry will also take part Inform users about the risks associated with purchasing a device from a parallel import.
Devices purchased abroad through official channels or approved for use in Mexico will continue to function without problems.
In a press conference, Daniel Pérez-Cirera Santacruz, legal director of Samsung Mexico, explained that the technological consumer goods sector is collaborating with the Federal Agency for Consumer Protection (Profeco) and the Federal Institute of Telecommunications (IFT) within the framework of the agreement, working hand in hand to the conditions of the National Digital Strategy Implementation of evangelization strategies on this topic and “Take action against dealers who inappropriately import these devices.”
Profeco defines the gray market as the import of products that are legally manufactured in other parts of the world but sold without commercial standards and without the express authorization of the official distributor and/or brand owner. The goods lack, among other things, warranty and technical specifications, certifications and required markings.
Last July, Motorola announced it would begin a deactivation process Smartphones purchased in Mexico on the gray market. The manufacturer’s decision came after the company said purchases and sales of devices it had signed through unregulated imports had increased fivefold over the past three years. ZTE implemented a similar measure in October last year.
Samsung and its colleagues want to change the Federal Consumer Protection Act
Samsung has no concrete plans to disable irregular devices, but it is an option the company is studying in detail. Your estimates suggest so Between 15 and 20% of the phones sold in his country under his signature come from the gray market.
The phenomenon impacts both the reputation of the brands involved and the revenues of the entire industry. The Competitive Intelligence Unit (CIU) estimates that around 30 million new smartphones are sold in Mexico every year. The figure represents a value of 125 billion pesos. The volume and dynamism of the sector are attractive to established manufacturers, but also to illegal traders, who reduce the profit margins of those companies that comply with Mexican laws. One in four mobile phones in the country is expected to be sold irregularly.
Given the scenario, Samsung stated that the industry is committed to amending the Federal Consumer Protection Act in favor of eradicating the gray market. “We want to finally introduce an explicit provision that regulates these types of imports,” said Santacruz. The end goal would be a law that definitively and clearly prohibits parallel imports.
