The iPhone has been the talk of the town lately for both good and bad reasons. While Apple has been involved in selling their iPhones in different parts of the world, India is one of the markets that they’ve prioritized on, in the recent past, because of the vast growth potential in the country. With the launching of the iPhone 5S and 5C simultaneously, iPhone sales have plummeted. But what’s the actual state of the iPhone in India? Is the iPhone really growing or has the iPhone 5S and 5C just brought about a momentary increase in sales?
iPhone’s Early Days In The Indian Market
Back in 2009, the iPhone was the most spoken-about mobile phone and its launch was expected to bring about a tremendous response in the Indian market. Well, that didn’t really happen, to say the least. As of 1st April 2009, there were not even 20,000 iPhones sold in the Indian market, with Bharti Airtel. On the other hand, sales were growing at a steady rate in different parts of the world. Mark Moskowitz revealed that an estimated 3.41 million iPhones were sold during the Jan-March quarter of 2009. Apple’s iPhone didn’t get the success it wanted, even in 2011, where it was lagging behind other smartphone manufacturers such as Nokia and RIM, despite being the world’s largest smartphone manufacturer worldwide.
A report released by the International Data Corporation (IDC) revealed that the Apple iPhone accounted for just 2.6 percent of the market share in the country, with RIM’s Blackberry at 15 percent, Samsung at 21 percent, and Nokia with a staggering 46 percent.
Apple’s Current Share In The Indian Smartphone Market
Apple’s CEO, Tim Cook, revealed that the firm has experienced a 400 percent increase in iPhone sales in second quarter of 2013, in India. Apple has sold 31.2 million iPhones during the second quarter, compared to its year-on-year sales, which was 26 million. The firm revealed that it’s happy with the continual success of the iPhone 4 and 4S in the country, with the iPhone 5 being the best-selling iPhone ever.
Cook revealed that the firm is anticipating the release of iOS 7 and OS Mavericks, and they’re putting in greater efforts to launch newer products in 2014. India is currently the third largest smartphone market worldwide, which is why smartphone manufacturers have been targeting the subcontinent like never before. For the second quarter of 2013, Apple’s net income was a stunning 6.9 billion US dollars.
So What’s The Reason Behind Apple’s Growing Share?
In terms of revenue, Apple is in second place, right after Samsung. Apple’s Indian market was never Steve Job’s priority, as previous iPhone devices were launched in India, months after being made available internationally. Of late, the firm has come to terms with the ever-increasing demand for iPhones in the country and now ensures immediate release of new iPhone devices after the international launch of the iPhones. They have also changed the pricing of apps available on the App Store to rupees from the previous dollar currency, making it more accessible to the Indian customers.
Back in 2011, the iPhone’s pricing was one of the major concerns of Indian smartphone customers. The average cost of an iPhone in India was at 750 US dollars, which was approximately INR 40,000. However, it was being sold at around 199 US dollars in the US, which comes up to around INR 10-12 K. Indian national carriers were also not fast enough for users to explore the full functionality of the iPhone. The recent iPhone 5S was indeed a shocker for most Indian customers, thanks to its astoundingly high pricing. The iPhone 5S price in India is around INR 45,000. The iPhone 5S price in India is considerably high for most Indian customers. To combat the pricing issue, Apple started an aggressive sales plan to jack their sales up in India.
Apple is also planning on launching a scheme that allows non-iPhone users to test the iPhone 5S or 5C prior to buying it. Although the firm hasn’t revealed the details yet, it is expected to revolve around the idea that non-iPhone users would need to pay their store a certain amount, after which they can use the device for a specified amount of time.
The firm also embarked on a successful growth strategy to increase the demand for the iPhone 4. They launched a buyback plan, using which customers could exchange their smartphones for a discount of INR 7,000 on the iPhone 4.
Another growth strategy incorporated by the firm has been the introduction of retail distributors. The firm has now appointed Ingram Micro and Redington as their retail distributors, which has already resulted in the introduction of 10K key retail points for the firm’s Indian division. The firm has started investing greatly in making people aware of the iPhones. They have also introduced EMI and exchange schemes in an attempt to lure customers.
The CEO of one of India’s retail chains revealed that if Apple desired to grow quickly in the Indian market, they needed to look beyond the metros. The firm is now planning on making iPhones, iPods, and iPads accessible to the residents of towns and villages in the country, as they believe these markets have the growth potential to take the firm to the next level.
Although the firm didn’t achieve the success they were after in the beginning, the Apple iPhone is in great demand across the country. They have worked on bringing about schemes that are suited for Indian users. The iPhone is currently growing share in the Indian market at a rapid pace and will continue to do so, if they maintain high standards like they’ve been doing till date.