More
than 5,000 of the new handsets have been reserved at Apple stores,
multi-brand retail chains and e-commerce sites in the last two days.
With record pre-launch orders for the iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus, Apple will start midnight sales for its devices in India for the first time, in line with the practice it follows elsewhere. The phones are to be launched in India on October 17.
More than 5,000 of the new handsets have been reserved at Apple stores, multi-brand retail chains and e-commerce sites in the last two days, according to three senior trade executives.
Sales to those who have booked the phones will start midnight at The MobileStore, UniverCell, Planet M Retail and Sangeetha Mobiles outlets besides Apple stores. "The craze about iPhones is for the first time felt in India like in the West," said Himanshu Chakrawarti, CEO, The Mobile Store. "The exclusivity to own the first lot of iPhones before others is huge, much like when a Salman Khan movie releases or how consumers used to rush at midnight to buy the first lot of Harry Potter books."
Videocon-owned PlanetM Retail's chief executive Sanjay Karwa said the midnight launch will ensure traditional offline retailers have the advantage over online retail, which is creating market disruptions.
"Midnight launch is a new concept in India and Apple's move will ensure brick-and-mortar customers receive the handset first. We will keep a few of our stores open past midnight to fulfill all orders, since getting permission for that is also a hassle," Karwa said.
Trade sources said Infibeam, Apple's sole authorised online seller for iPhones in India, has clocked the highest number of bookings - in excess of 2,000 - with big demand from companies and smaller towns. The maximum orders are for the 128 GB iPhone 6 priced at Rs 71,500.
Infibeam.com co-founder Neeru Sharma declined to confirm the numbers, but said there had been unprecedented demand for the new iPhones and that it will try and ensure deliveries in metro cities and towns on October 17 itself. Last year, Apple's iPhone 5s had around 2,000 bookings in India, where the concept of pre-order is still new.
Rival Samsung took pre-launch orders for its Galaxy S4 and S5, with those for the S5 at about 2,500, according to trade sources. An email sent to Apple did not elicit any responses as of the press time.
Apple has assured retailers that it will ensure sufficient inventory for all pre-ordered units on the launch day. The concern that there could be a shortage due to strong demand in the West remains. Also, the launch date of the new iPhones in India coincides with that in China, a far bigger market for smartphones and Apple. Only 29% of more than 900 million mobile phone subscribers in India have smartphones, while in China the user base is around 500 million.
Infibeam's chief executive officer Vishal Mehta said there could be a demand-and-supply-gap for the new iPhones due to a high demand. The 4.7-inch iPhone 6 is priced at Rs 53,500 while the 5.5-inch iPhone 6 Plus starts at Rs 62,500. Globally, Apple sold a record 10 million units in three days after the launch on September 19 in 10 markets.
No comments:
Post a Comment