Apple Inc is planning to launch 500 exclusive stores in India to focus on smaller towns and cities. Apple products have been available in India for quite some time now, but unlike markets like the US or even China, the devices aren’t sold directly by Apple but by authorized resellers and other retail distributors.
Apple’s key sales come from regions like Bangalore, Mumbai, New Delhi and Kolkata, so these regions will probably receive large outlets akin to the Apple Stores across the globe.
Apple is said to be mulling a franchise model that may be overseen by Redington, one of its two distributors in the country.
Authorized distributors of iPhone are Redington, Ingram Micro, Rashi Peripherals and Reliance. The official price of iPhone 6 is lower compared with the price at which vendors at e-commerce are selling the phone.
Apple products enjoy a decent following here in India, thanks to their premium devices. Launching dedicated stores in small cities of the countries will educate customers about the products with live in store demonstrations.
But it’s clear that Apple wants to reduce dependency on resellers and take matters into its own hands. This will also mean the company will have to handle the advertising of its products rather than relying on the distributors.