VietNamNet Bridge - BPhone 2 was introduced by BKAV Corporation on August 8 and officially hit the market on August 19 with the retail price of nearly VND10 million. Just one month later, used BPhone 2s were being offered for less than VND8 million.

BPhone 2 has not had success as hoped, even though it is distributed through The Gioi Di Dong, the largest smartphone distribution chain in Vietnam.

At the BPhone 2 launch ceremony in early August, Tran Kinh Doanh, CEO of The Gioi Di Dong showed his confidence in cooperation between BKAV and the distributor.

Doanh said that the large network of The Gioi Di Dong with retail shops present in nearly many provinces and cities throughout the country would help BPhone reach users more easily. Some analysts commented that BKAV can be sure of 50 percent of success if it can distribute its products via the distribution chain.

BPhone 2 has not had success as hoped, even though it is distributed through The Gioi Di Dong, the largest smartphone distribution chain in Vietnam.

A source said before BPhone 2s were put on sale on August 18, there had been nearly 8,000 orders.

On the first day of launch, only 500 products were delivered to customers, including 168 in Hanoi. The representative of a The Gioi Di Dong agent said the next delivery would come after one week and that the delivery depended on the manufacturer.

However, customers had to wait not only one week but one month. Only on September 15 did BKAV begin taking orders again.

VTC News in mid-September reported that it was very difficult to find the sales agents which had BPhones available to buy. No sales agent had products on shelves to deliver to customers promptly. The newswire’s reporters were told to pay a deposit and come back later for delivery.

When information about late delivery spread out, many people complained on technology forums that they felt disappointed as BKAV had repeated the same mistake.

One month after the product launch, the ad pieces on the sale of used BPhone 2 began appearing on The Gioi Di Dong’s system. The sellers advertised that the products were nearly brand-new with a long 11-month warranty period. This means that the products had been used for one month only before they were put on sale.

The selling prices of used products were quoted at VND8.1-8.2 million a couple of weeks ago, or VND2 million lower than the initial price, which means an 18 percent depreciation.

Some local newspapers commented that the sale after just one month of use showed the low quality of BPhone.

However, the owner of a shop in Hanoi said the sale was normal. 

“This happens with flagship models of Apple and Samsung as well, not only BPhone,” he said.

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