Apple's Revamped India Strategy Includes 5-6 'Flagship Premium Reseller' Outlets in Major Cities

[aniesshsethh]

I don't think the real issue is been captured here. The issue is not the lack of bigger stores or not even the cost to some extend. There are more than enough indians who appreciate the apple ecosystem and want to use it. I have been on iphone's and macbooks since 2011. I recently made the switch to linux, and there were many reasons, and cost wasn't one of them. I am happy to pay the premium, if the product is worth the money and lasts, the problem I had was, I wanted a 13 inch macbook with 16gb ram, that apple doesn't sell in India ( the only way to get 16gb ram macbook in india is with 15 inch, and having used that in the past, I didn't wanted a bigger laptop) , then, apple doesn't even sell apple care + in india, and I happen to break my macbook by a drop, I get it, it was my mistake, I should have to pay for it, but when a company sells the same product here, at a ridiculous currency conversion, why not give us the same service that you give to the western world, why not have any APPLE service centers in India, not third party ? I am not saying, that other companies are better in India in this regard,but when you are paying through your nose, you expect similar type of service that is globally available. The reality is Indians want value for their money, even if it costs a little more, if I can be assured it will be properly supported with the same standards as the west, I would buy it. A company who has different standards for different parts of the globe, that's just racism to me.

 

[kstotlani]

Part of Apple's cachet is that its high end/ luxury/ hard-to-get. Apple will have to dilute its brand cachet if its chose to sell to people in India who cannot afford its products. People in China consider Apple products a status symbol - will they continue to do so if Indians started walking around with Apple products as well?

That’s kind of racist isn’t it and more than that just plain stupid. The poorest of people in western countries who cannot even match the income and intellect of Indians, own an iPhone. They own it with a lot of other debt but that is the culture in some of the western countries. You think a Chinese person sees that and immediately throws their iPhone away for some other brand. Even if you consider the count of people who can afford an iPhone in India it will easily be more than some western countries combined. Apple is just too late to the game and doesn’t offer many features that Indians are used to such has dual sim.

 

[iSayuSay]

I’ve been in a country where “Apple Premium Resellers” are sole distributor for Apple products.

Not.fun.at.all.. They’re third parties, and middleman too, and they will sell you apple products with high markups and low end services.

Any warranty claims must be authorized by regional Apple offices and it takes longer time than it should. I cant get my iPhone 7 battery replacement program with Apple Resellers. Too much bureaucracy.

 

[TBN27]

Whats new in this? Apple already has this kind of setup in India for sometime now..increasing square feet of retail doesn't help..

1/ Better service ? No
2/ Apple Pay ? No
3/ Reduces supply chain issues ? No
4/ Does it really help in reducing the cost of apple products ? NO!
5/ Improvement in maps? hell no!

Apple should really just leave the Indian market.

 

[Abbi]

Yes most of India is poor, but it has a large middle class, larger than all of Western Europe. However, everything that is great about Apple products is not valued as much by this large middle class, where value for money is the #1 metric.

So when you have a phone that does everything that an iPhone does, maybe 80% as good, but is half the price, the Indian consumer thinks he has received the better end of the bargain when he/ she buys a Xiaomi phone because here you have a device that looks like an iPhone and does all the things an iPhone does, but it didn't cost as much as an iPhone. iPhone has a fingerprint sensor that is lightning quick and more accurate than the competition? So what, my phone has the same feature and it doesn't matter that it doesn't work 100% of the time or is slower than your iPhone. Better camera? Big deal: I have more pixels and the pictures are good enough. Inconsistent interface? Not so smooth scrolling? No rubber band effect? These are not important things to the middle class Indian. Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp, YouTube: all those Apps look the same, even on inferior phones.

One of the nice things about buying an Apple product is the way it just seamlessly works with Apple services and other Apple products. For most of the middle class that Apple is trying to target, their smartphone will be their only computer. So all those iCloud syncing features and the "it just works" functionality is lost on them. Maps? People don't buy 1 brand or the other because of Map providers which can easily be changed. Voice control? That's too ahead of its time for the middle class of India. Apple Pay? India is barely graduating out of cash. Privacy? That's great, but no Indian would be willing to pay extra for it. An under appreciated aspect of Apple products is the value they hold even after many years of use. But it's well nigh impossible to sell a used iPhone in India because the very people who want Apple products are the type to not want to buy it used :-(

Many of Apple's advantages are therefore nullified in India. The rich of India, who appreciate and value what Apple and its services has to offer probably don't even buy their iPhones in India :-/ Or if they do, they get it right away through unofficial channels.

So what is the solution to ramp up sales in India? One idea would be to offer models exclusive to India. Maybe it would just be cosmetic at first. Yes, it's a small market, but Apple has to take the 100 year view. Think of growing sales by just 1M per year. The Indian FCC wants you to help it block spam calls? Instead of stalling, come out with an India specific OS that does just that- it can still be called IOS ;-). Maybe IOS could understand Hinglish which no other OS does? Imagine if IOS could translate local Indian languages? Or somehow work with the Aadhar system to act as an Identity Authenticator. These are just a few suggestions, people who live in India could probably find 100s of other annoyances that Apple could help solve, thereby making its products indispensable.

Apple has to think like a startup to succeed in India and it can't be done by sitting in an Ivory Circle in Cupertino. If/ when they solve this problem, it is going to make for 1 great case study @ Harvard and other management schools.

 

[uroshnor]

iPhones are just too expensive for those living in India. I don’t see them selling much of their products there for a while.

Actually India has a significant addressible market that can afford Apple products. It’s probably only 50 million people or so, but that’s roughly how many Indians have an income that would be “well off” in a Western country - that’s bigger than Canada or Australian populations, and several times the size of them as markets.

Sure that’s a drop in the ocean compared to the total population, but Apple’s hardly likely to be able to target sales at people for whom a phone is a significant chunk of their annual salary.

 

[Sovon Halder]

And they still can't sell custom configuration mac in India.

No news about AirPods and external GPU in the coming years.

 

[Abbi]

Apple should really just leave the Indian market.

I'm sure their ego won't let them do that. However it is going to be impossible to win in this market, just like it's impossible for Mercedes to win in this market. Apple needs to accept that it is is the Louis Vitton of phones & act that way. Or take the 100 year view, act like a startup & make India specific products. A good name for them- IPhone and IOS ;-)

 

[AngstyKylo]

Louis Vuitton sells handbags more expensive than cars, and they have stores in India as well.
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Samsung just did pre-orders for the Galaxy Note 9 in India.
India is a huge (and growing) market. Only fools would skip the second most populous country in the world.
[doublepost=1534865059][/doublepost]
The only disadvantage Apple has in India is local manufacturing (which they started working on recently) and the lack of features like dual-SIM. The likes of Samsung has established their factories in India long time ago, and thus have advantages in taxes and cost. Apple is quite late in Asian market outside China due to their focus on China.

Exactly, it's like people think India is only like Slumdog Millionaire or something...the iPhone is just an inferior product overall there. I love my Apple products in the UK but in Asia they feel gimped.

 

[code-m]

I don't think the real issue is been captured here. The issue is not the lack of bigger stores or not even the cost to some extend. There are more than enough indians who appreciate the apple ecosystem and want to use it. I have been on iphone's and macbooks since 2011. I recently made the switch to linux, and there were many reasons, and cost wasn't one of them. I am happy to pay the premium, if the product is worth the money and lasts, the problem I had was, I wanted a 13 inch macbook with 16gb ram, that apple doesn't sell in India ( the only way to get 16gb ram macbook in india is with 15 inch, and having used that in the past, I didn't wanted a bigger laptop) , then, apple doesn't even sell apple care + in india, and I happen to break my macbook by a drop, I get it, it was my mistake, I should have to pay for it, but when a company sells the same product here, at a ridiculous currency conversion, why not give us the same service that you give to the western world, why not have any APPLE service centers in India, not third party ? I am not saying, that other companies are better in India in this regard,but when you are paying through your nose, you expect similar type of service that is globally available. The reality is Indians want value for their money, even if it costs a little more, if I can be assured it will be properly supported with the same standards as the west, I would buy it. A company who has different standards for different parts of the globe, that's just racism to me.

Apple wants the presence and to reassure its stockholders that it is growing in a booming foreign market to instill confidence. In reality there really is no commitment in India let alone service and support.

People have debated on MR that India customers unlike Chinese customers have more money, their fail to mention that Apple has official Apple Stores in China and is planning on a rapid expansion effort. Want to take a guess how many official Apple Store are in India? Apple is paying lip service to its stock holders that it knows the Indian market, in reality their efforts thus far have not been fruitful.

Want to take a guess Apple’s presence in Africa, it is much much worse. Before someone informs me that Africans have no money, then their are living under a rock. Many nations have super rich, rich, upper middle, middle, lower middle, poor, etc financial classes of people. America, Europe, China, India, Africa, etc are no different. People here love living in their small bubble thinking that the interpretation of the world through the news is accurate. News flash poverty sells as it is a tear jerky, terrorism sells because it strikes fear and anger, so on and so forth. Your emotions are being manipulated by the media, because guess what that is what sells unlike Apple products in India. ::drops mic and walks off the stage::

 

[Val-kyrie]

The Verge had an article in July on why Apple's iPhone is struggling in India.

Among the many factors are:

Price
The iPhone X is priced at over 1,000,000 Rs (~$1600 USD) whereas most smartphones retail for 1/10 that price. Even if Apple were to capture the premium smartphone market in India, which starts around a price of 30,000 Rs (~$450), it would only capture 4% of the total Indian market, i.e. ~1.2 million units per quarter. Only the SE is not considered a "premium" phone, but it still starts at $380 USD. This issue can be mitigated somewhat if/as Apple increases local manufacturing in India.

Feature Phones
Jio, an Indian telecom, has released a 4G feature phone which possesses many of the same features as an entry level smart phone for only ~$25 USD.

Screen Size
Despite a higher price the iPhone 6 outsells the SE because it has a larger screen and phones tend to be the only device most people in India own to connect to the internet services. Still, both devices have been available for about $300 USD with discounts, making them accessible to a larger portion of the population.

Social Status
The iP6 is popular because it looks like an iP8 from a distance when in a case.

Lack of Features
Other features valued in India but lacking in Apple's lineup include: dual SIMs, expandable storage, navigation and points of interest in Apple Maps, Siri functionality (e.g. movie and restaurant information), and the ubiquity of Apple Pay.

Perceived Lower Specs
Indian customers value specs (e.g. Amount of RAM over the user experience)

A New Direction Laden with New Mistakes
According to the Verge: "In December last year, a new head of operations took charge at Apple India with slowing growth and the 'higher demand of older iPhones sold at huge discount' reportedly among the reasons for the change."

IMO, if Apple believes it will win market share through its retail presence despite increasing ASPs, it is in for a rude awakening. Indians who purchase premium smart phones want social status at an affordable cost. Samsung and Xiaomi offer this and so must Apple if it wants to become a significant part of the Indian market.

Apple needs to offer lower cost iPhones with larger screens, dual SIMs, expandable storage, updated software, and accessibility to Apple Pay, if it wants to compete better. Where retail stores may help is in their ability to emphasize the user experience despite lower hardware specs.

In the end, Apple will have to choose between unit profitability and volume growth.

 

[JPack]

The Verge had an article in July on why Apple's iPhone is struggling in India.

Among the many factors are:

Price
The iPhone X is priced at over 1,000,000 Rs (~$1600 USD) whereas most smartphones retail for 1/10 that price. Even if Apple were to capture the premium smartphone market in India, which starts around a price of 30,000 Rs (~$450), it would only capture 4% of the total Indian market, i.e. ~1.2 million units per quarter. Only the SE is not considered a "premium" phone, but it still starts at $380 USD. This issue can be mitigated somewhat if/as Apple increases local manufacturing in India.

Feature Phones
Jio, an Indian telecom, has released a 4G feature phone which possesses many of the same features as an entry level smart phone for only ~$25 USD.

Screen Size
Despite a higher price the iPhone 6 outsells the SE because it has a larger screen and phones tend to be the only device most people in India own to connect to the internet services. Still, both devices have been available for about $300 USD with discounts, making them accessible to a larger portion of the population.

Social Status
The iP6 is popular because it looks like an iP8 from a distance when in a case.

Lack of Features
Other features valued in India but lacking in Apple's lineup include: dual SIMs, expandable storage, navigation and points of interest in Apple Maps, Siri functionality (e.g. movie and restaurant information), and the ubiquity of Apple Pay.

Perceived Lower Specs
Indian customers value specs (e.g. Amount of RAM over the user experience)

A New Direction Laden with New Mistakes
According to the Verge: "In December last year, a new head of operations took charge at Apple India with slowing growth and the 'higher demand of older iPhones sold at huge discount' reportedly among the reasons for the change."

IMO, if Apple believes it will win market share through its retail presence despite increasing ASPs, it is in for a rude awakening. Indians who purchase premium smart phones want social status at an affordable cost. Samsung and Xiaomi offer this and so must Apple if it wants to become a significant part of the Indian market.

Apple needs to offer lower cost iPhones with larger screens, dual SIMs, expandable storage, updated software, and accessibility to Apple Pay, if it wants to compete better. Where retail stores may help is in their ability to emphasize the user experience despite lower hardware specs.

In the end, Apple will have to choose between unit profitability and volume growth.

Seems like a long winded way of saying Indian consumers can't afford Apple iPhones.

iPhone X retails for the same price in India as it does in the U.K. and China. iPhone SE in India retails for $299, which is already cheaper than any other country in the world.

The Android competition exists everywhere in the world, not just India.

 

[aakshey]

@JPack, you won’t believe how Indians are. They would rather choose a USD 2 per month telecom over a USD 4 per month telecom even if it means worse coverage and service. And this is your so called middle class.

 

[akbarali.ch]

iPhones are just too expensive for those living in India. I don’t see them selling much of their products there for a while.

Seriously its become way expensive. these are the price i paid for iPhone when they come out.

Iphone 3G - 36000
iphone 4 - 42000
Iphone 4s - 45000
iPhone 6 - 62000
iphone 6s - 72000

iphone X - 92000 (couldn't purchase, its way beyond than what my salary permits)

 

[aakshey]

Seriously its become way expensive. these are the price i paid for iPhone when they come out.

Iphone 3G - 36000
iphone 4 - 42000
Iphone 4s - 45000
iPhone 6 - 62000
iphone 6s - 72000

iphone X - 92000 (couldn't purchase, its way beyond than what my salary permits)

Agreed. But until Apple starts manufacturing in India, prices won’t decrease.

 

[JPack]

@JPack, you won’t believe how Indians are. They would rather choose a USD 2 per month telecom over a USD 4 per month telecom even if it means worse coverage and service. And this is your so called middle class.

Personally, I'm not surprised.

Based on World Bank data, about 1/3 of Indians live at the poverty line of $3.20 per day.

This has a huge psychological impact on other citizens of the country. Even those who can afford US$4 per month for mobile phone service are thinking about the consequences of spending $4 instead of $2. Famine and poverty are all too recent in minds of many people. India is quickly climbing out of this but it will take time to for many Indians to get comfortable with spending dollars for premium goods.

 

[aakshey]

Personally, I'm not surprised.

Based on World Bank data, about 1/3 of Indians live at the poverty line of $3.20 per day.

This has a huge psychological impact on other citizens of the country. Even those who can afford US$4 per month for mobile phone service are thinking about the consequences of spending $4 instead of $2. Famine and poverty are all too recent in minds of many people. India is quickly climbing out of this but it will take time to for many Indians to get comfortable with spending dollars for premium goods.

And I’m talking of mid 20’s people earning USD 100+ a week. Often those living with parents so they don’t need to run a household. It is just their mentality of spending the least possible regardless of service/quality.

 

[Radon87000]

Seems like a long winded way of saying Indian consumers can't afford Apple iPhones.

iPhone X retails for the same price in India as it does in the U.K. and China. iPhone SE in India retails for $299, which is already cheaper than any other country in the world.

The Android competition exists everywhere in the world, not just India.

Difference is in the UK the Android competition is not as lower priced as it is in India. A quick check reveals the Note 8 is priced at $787 in India. The iPhone X is priced at $1400. The 6S is priced just $200 lower than the Note 8. Only a moron would pay double for an iPhone X

 

[aakshey]

Difference is in the UK the Android competition is not as lower priced as it is in India. A quick check reveals the Note 8 is priced at $787 in India. The iPhone X is priced at $1400. The 6S is priced just $200 lower than the Note 8. Only a moron would pay double for an iPhone X

That's correct too.

iPhone 6s and OnePlus 6 cost the same. But there isn't a huge difference in price even in USA.

True phones that cost USD 250-350 in USA are available for USD 100-200ish. But then those aren't in the same league.

 

[delhifox]

I don't think the real issue is been captured here. The issue is not the lack of bigger stores or not even the cost to some extend. There are more than enough indians who appreciate the apple ecosystem and want to use it. I have been on iphone's and macbooks since 2011. I recently made the switch to linux, and there were many reasons, and cost wasn't one of them. I am happy to pay the premium, if the product is worth the money and lasts, the problem I had was, I wanted a 13 inch macbook with 16gb ram, that apple doesn't sell in India ( the only way to get 16gb ram macbook in india is with 15 inch, and having used that in the past, I didn't wanted a bigger laptop) , then, apple doesn't even sell apple care + in india, and I happen to break my macbook by a drop, I get it, it was my mistake, I should have to pay for it, but when a company sells the same product here, at a ridiculous currency conversion, why not give us the same service that you give to the western world, why not have any APPLE service centers in India, not third party ? I am not saying, that other companies are better in India in this regard,but when you are paying through your nose, you expect similar type of service that is globally available. The reality is Indians want value for their money, even if it costs a little more, if I can be assured it will be properly supported with the same standards as the west, I would buy it. A company who has different standards for different parts of the globe, that's just racism to me.

You can get 16 GB model via distributor in India. They are called CTO models. Have done that when I was in India.
Apple Care+ for laptop is not a norm, very few counties in the west has it.

Apple doesn't own the entire supply chain in India, this makes it impossible provide same degree of feature/services, hence no direct touch points with the customer - for both sales and services.

 

[aakshey]

You can buy AC+ online using a VPN and it is honored in India starting from Nov 2017.

 

[aniesshsethh]

You can buy AC+ online using a VPN and it is honored in India starting from Nov 2017.

Ha too little too late, already bought a equivalent dell model with 4 year warranty and accidental cover, this is what happens when you make it difficult for the consumer to get the product he wants

@delhifox can you tell me how that works ? I have asked around in the past, didn't get it, even from the apple india support, never told me this is possible

It took them more than 2 weeks to replace a battery that failed in less than a year old macbook, for me personally the pros started outweighing the cons. Maybe when I am ready to change my laptop again, will move back if things improve here, for me, apple's own service centers would be a great start, I really couldn't care less about the buying experience in terms of nicer shops.

 

[Val-kyrie]

Seems like a long winded way of saying Indian consumers can't afford Apple iPhones.

iPhone X retails for the same price in India as it does in the U.K. and China. iPhone SE in India retails for $299, which is already cheaper than any other country in the world.

The Android competition exists everywhere in the world, not just India.

Much of it comes down to cost but other factors are important too (i.e. lack of hardware and software features), including culture-specific factors (e.g. price trumping user experience). IMO, Apple is making a mistake by trying to treat the Indian market in the same way as other markets. Consequently, I don't see much success for Apple in India, at least in the short term.

 

[aakshey]

Much of it comes down to cost but other factors are important too (i.e. lack of hardware and software features), including culture-specific factors (e.g. price trumping user experience). IMO, Apple is making a mistake by trying to treat the Indian market in the same way as other markets. Consequently, I don't see much success for Apple in India, at least in the short term.

1. What hardware? Do you want Apple to sell iPhone X with 8 GB RAM in India alone?

2. If Indian culture is price/features vs user experience, do you think Apple has much leeway?

3. Yes, they won't make ANY headway in the short term. Especially when their answer is to build a few big stores to counter the issues they are facing.

 

[Val-kyrie]

1. What hardware? Do you want Apple to sell iPhone X with 8 GB RAM in India alone?

2. If Indian culture is price/features vs user experience, do you think Apple has much leeway?

3. Yes, they won't make ANY headway in the short term. Especially when their answer is to build a few big stores to counter the issues they are facing.

1. E.g. Dual-SIM slots. Read my previous post
2. No.
3. Their current strategy bears an American mindset. I expect it to fail. Again, see my previous post.