Apple has decided to expand its focus from the consumer market towards corporate firms and educational institutions for the first time in India. It will try to peddle its iPhones, iMacs and iPads to such establishments in the hopes of creating new growth engines for the devices.
Between this and its recently revealed buyback scheme for the Apple iPhone 6S, the US-based brand clearly sees potential in India and wants to aggressively increase its market share. The company has selected nearly 130 dedicated corporate resellers across the country for the new business-focused venture.
The agents include representatives in Tier-II and Tier-III cities like Bhopal, Jamshedpur, Agra, Varanasi, Kozhikode, Aizawl and Mathura. Two senior trade partners told the Economic Times that Apple aims to increase this network to almost 200 resellers by March next year. The handset maker expects 15 – 20% of its revenue to come from businesses.
If Apple succeeds in achieving its targets, it should be protected from any slowdown in the consumer market. This is reflected in its global approach towards enterprise brands, where a worldwide slowdown in iPads is forcing the company to vend it through other channels. Revenues from corporate sales of its devices total to over $25 billion and contribute to nearly 14% of the brand’s turnover.
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Apple is further opening itself up to partnerships with international firms to boost sales. So far, only Apple distributors and premium resellers conducted enterprise vending in India. The appointment of exclusive corporate resellers in the nation seems to be in response to the lukewarm reception the iPhone 6S has received here due to high prices.
In addition to the renewed focus on corporate businesses, Apple is also in the process of building a standalone network of dealers for educational institutes. It’s set to provide product and software solutions to schools, colleges and universities.