Apple India executives Maneesh Dhir and Sanjay Kaul have stated in a meeting with retailers that the company will be focusing on consumers in small cities and towns in the country in order to grow sales, reports The Economic Times (via The Next Web).
The executives state that Apple desires to build 100 exclusive standalone stores under the franchise model in smaller markets, and will aim to do so by the end of the current fiscal year. The company is precisely interested in the changing demographic of the market, with both executives feeling that the aspiration level of Apple products amongst the youth are growing along with the population of wealthy citizens.
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The move comes amid Samsung's success in the Indian hinterland, said a senior executive with a retail chain, besides which companies such as Sony and Nokia have been able to sell smartphones costing in excess of 30,000 in areas outside the metros. The 16 GB iPhone 5 costs 45,500. India pricing for the upcoming iPhone models - the 5C and the 5S - hasn't been announced yet.
"Apple has realised that if it wants to grow fast in India, it has to look beyond the metros," said the CEO of one of India's retail chains. The company wants to grow upwards of 30% year-on-year in India and feels the smaller markets would play a critical role since the aspiration level of Apple products amongst the youth and rich is growing there as well.
India notably does not have any Apple Retail Stores in its country; however a report in January 2012 stated that Apple was interested to build stores in the country after business regulations were eased. Apple was also planning for 'significant growth' of its reseller network in India as reported last March.
Figures from research firm Canalys reported in August for Q2 2013 showed that India is now the third largest smartphone market in the world, with 129% growth in the region resulting in 9 million smartphone shipments during the quarter. Apple CEO Tim Cook also mentioned during the company’s Q3 2013 earnings call that iPhone sales in India were increased by 400% year-on-year, while the iPad posted double-digit growth in the region, highlighting the potential for future growth in the market.
Top Rated Comments
:D:p This here is genuinely funny.
Stop being sarcastic. People went to such great lengths about the name iPad. And today, do they not want it?
It's a name, it serves a purpose. That's it.
@voyagerd, actually, none of those stores are knock-offs. They are legitimately authorised by Apple for selling their products in India. These "Premium Resellers" are the iStore line by Reliance Digital and iPlanet. Then there is Imagine.
@tmroper, a fact for you - here in India, we have our English straight, and I am pretty sure Apple does too, unlike you. 'Small towns' are small towns. Cities are cities, there are big cities and small cities. In India, we have villages too. And I don't see Apple talking about villages. They are talking only about towns and cities.
It would make perfect sense for an eyeglass place :)
We have one in my city in the UK and its like an Apple store except not as nicely designed, no genius or proper diagnostics, run by a company with own agenda, and worst of all they cant sell or work on any iPhone products.
So pointless.
The whole town could chip in for an iPhone, and keep it in the town center for common use. Or one entrepreneur could buy one and rent it out. Even people living just above the subsistence level could be cool for 5 minutes per month.
Maybe, but maybe not. In Taiwan, for example, despite being the corporate headquarters for Foxconn, there are no official Apple stores (which is partly due to restrictive commercial laws); instead, there are stores labeled "Authorized Reseller" or "Premium Apple Reseller" and they feature Apple logos and the layout of a traditional Apple store--and, Apple gives them authorization to cover warranties or, in a case that happened to me in Taiwan once, ship my AppleCare+ iPad to a repair hub Apple has in Singapore...in other words, there are indeed knock-off Apple stores (mostly in Mainland China), but I've seen Premium resellers in the mall under my high-rise and they are 100% legit.