Launched a little over a year ago, Fnac Darty’s iPhone, iPad and Apple Watch repair program no longer exists. However, the service offered was even approved by Apple, for “official” repairs. The reason: too much success and too little profitability.
On March 21, the Fnac Darty group launched its repair service for Apple products approved by the manufacturer, with its subsidiary WeFix. In total, 350 technicians in 120 stores in France and Belgium (including the Fnac and Darty brands, but not only) were part of the network of Apple Authorized Service Centers (CSAA). But that partnership no longer exists, as revealed MacGeneration.
The end of a partnership with Apple for Fnac Darty
This is a tweet published by WeFix in response to a customer who tipped off our colleagues. We can read there that WeFix is no longer in partnership with Apple, which makes official parts from the manufacturer unavailable. A very discreet announcement therefore, while some customers may prefer parts coming directly from Apple, for their iPhone, iPad or Apple Watch.
Hello, we are no longer in partnership with Apple, and we have a week of transition time to replenish our stocks of parts for repair.
I am sorry for the concern you encountered.
Maxentius
— WeFix ? (@WeFix_France) April 24, 2023
According MacGeneration“the partnership between the two companies has been a victim of its own success, explains a repairman working in a particularly busy shop. “The media advances that”Apple would have underestimated the request» : the CSAA indeed supply official parts and not spare parts called «compatible“. This causes repair costs to be higher: because of this, WeFix would have been less profitable.
The Problem With Apple’s Repair Accreditation Program
Since customers don’t necessarily have AppleCare coverage, the price for repairs charged can’t be too high, in which case they wouldn’t go to authorized repairers. This is why the financial balance to be found for WeFix was complicated. In addition, Apple Stores being rare in France, Fnac and Darty stores offered much greater coverage for official repairs, especially in medium-sized towns.
MacGenerationspecifies all the same that some shops have recently received new original parts, while others only have compatible parts. The media also highlights a form of authoritarianism on the part of Apple, which would have strict constraints for the repair of its products.
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