A French computer reseller has filed a lawsuit against Apple, claiming the company is unfairly undercutting its partners with its own retail operations. Francois Prudent, CEO of France's largest Apple reseller eBizcuss, told French newspaper Le Figaro (hat tip to GigaOm) that Apple is withholding its most popular products to stock its own stores and offering businesses significant discounts that eBizcuss can't possibly match.
The lawsuit alleges that eBizcuss's business is down 30 percent because it can't get its hands on the MacBook Air, iPad 2, or iPhone 4S. Demand for those products has been high, but Prudent claimed that Apple first stocks its own stores before giving products to resellers, giving the company's retail operations an unfair advantage. Apple also reportedly required eBizcuss to improve its point-of-sale system to the tune of $6.5 million, which it can't recoup due to lost sales. Adding insult to injury, Prudent said that Apple is taking away its business customers by offering quotes that are below the wholesale prices offered to resellers.
This isn't the first time the resellers have complained about Apple moving in on their turf and using unfair tactics to steal away customers. Apple was hit with a similar class action lawsuit in California in 2005, shortly after the company began opening its own retail stores. Several California resellers made almost identical claims as eBizcuss against Apple, with one claiming that it went out of business because Apple sold products at a net loss in its own stores. That case is still pending in Santa Clara County Superior Court.
Another reseller, MacSolutions, filed its own similar suit in 2006, which was settled the following year.
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