Apple is trying a new trick to win a bigger customer base in India by considering the store-within-a-store idea. The truth is that until recently, the country was clearly not a good enough market according to the company, mostly owing to its reputation of being price-sensitive.
Here’s the deal – the success of comparatively smaller brands like Micromax and Lava, the former only being second to Samsung in mobile market share in India, indicates that the majority of Indians remain a price-sensitive lot.
Why Apple must bend
The iPhone has lost its status as the most high-end handset in the market thanks to some incredibly cool Android devices which are almost as expensive. So Apple can’t keep depending on sales to people who are free with their cash, in order to fill its coffers. Some of those folks are busy cheating on iOS.
The company has tried EMI schemes in India before and they seemed to work, but only to a certain extent. Does that mean people in the country don’t want to buy an expensive gadget just because they can afford it through monthly payment schemes? Probably does.
Now Cupertino has introduced its idea of a lower-priced smartphone with the iPhone 5C (C for Color, not Cheap). It needs to reach out to more potential customers and store-in-store may be the most viable option for the brand. It eliminates the cost of setting up Apple-only brick-and-mortar outlets after all.
The Economic Times reports that the company has met with chains like Croma, The Mobile Store, Future Group, Reliance Retail and others with the idea of pitching its intentions. Apple is apparently aiming for 100 standalone stores which will occupy space within the aforementioned outlets.
The brand’s eyes are on smaller markets in India. In other words, it has learned not to concentrate only on cities like Mumbai or Delhi.