Fans in India will soon be able to get their hands on the Apple iPhone 6S and 6S Plus at a massive discount of Rs 34000. Accordingly, the popular smartphone maker has decided to offer a buyback scheme on the handsets in order to increase sales.
The Apple iPhone 6S and 6S Plus were released just over a month ago starting at Rs 62000. Shipments are apparently down by 15% to 20% over last year as the previous models were cheaper by Rs 9000. According to 3 senior trade partners, the new initiative marks the first time the company and its distributors have started a buyback offer at the retail end.
A senior executive claims that Apple is desperate to grow sales in India as it didn’t expect such a weak launch in the country. He told the Economic Times that phone makers usually only offer an indirect subsidy to retailers under buyback programs, placing the burden of selling the handset on the vendor. In this case, the US-based brand is driving the entire scheme.
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Apple will make sure the transactions are genuine and reduce pressure on the retailer. Ingram Micro, an official distributor, has introduced the buyback offer in a small number of stores and multi-brand chains in South India. It plans to make the scheme available across the country in the future.
Common specs of the Apple iPhone 6S and 6S Plus:
– Apple iOS 9 OS
– 2GHz dual-core Apple A9 processor
– 16GB/64GB/128GB ROM, 2GB RAM
– 12MP rear camera, 5MP front lens
The other distributors will follow, as Apple wants to achieve its goal of selling 12 lakh models during the October – December quarter. People will have to exchange their iPhone 6 in order to get a Rs 34000 reduction in price. The manufacturer is apparently even willing to take select high-end Samsung handsets.
The buyback offer for the Apple iPhone 6S and 6S Plus arrives in the midst of e-commerce sites retailing it at a 7% to 11% discount. Snapdeal’s VP of category management asserts that its schemes has led to a large amount of traction for the smartphones, with orders coming in from metros and even Tier-II cities.