China’s Realme apologises after armed robbery of flagship smartphones shipment
- The company said it cannot ensure the ‘in-store experience’ it would like for the launch of its GT6 handset after reports a shipment was stolen at gunpoint in May
Chinese smartphone maker Realme apologised to consumers for possible delays of its latest handset because the devices were stolen while in transit to Spain just a few weeks ahead of the product launch.
A shipment of Realme’s GT6 smartphones, which has a launch event in Italy set for Thursday, was stolen on its way to Spain “for reasons beyond our control”, the company said in a statement on Friday published to its Spanish account on X, formerly Twitter. Spanish tech media Zonamovilidad.es reported on Friday that the robbery occurred in late May when the vehicle carrying the devices was robbed “at gunpoint”. The theft is causing delays in both Spanish and Portuguese stores, according to the report.
“We haven’t been able to get them back despite doing everything we can, so we won’t be able to ensure the in-store experience we would like during the launch week,” the company said, adding that it “sincerely apologises” for the situation.
Neither the number of handsets stolen nor their value has been disclosed. Realme did not respond to a request for comment.
The launch of the GT series handsets in 2021 was meant to position the company to “compete in mature markets such as Western Europe and China”, the company wrote in a promotional Wall Street Journal article that year.
