The Economic Times reported on Thursday, 14 March, that Apple might stop selling the iPhone 6 and the iPhone 6 Plus in India and move them out of stores that average less than 35 unit sales a month.
The report, citing three senior industry executives, said that the strategy is to reinforce Apple's premium positioning in the country. It also said that this will increase the entry price of iPhones by making the iPhone 6S and 6S Plus the entry-level phones.
The cheapest iPhone in the market now is the iPhone 6, which costs about Rs 24,900 – last year, the iPhone SE was the cheapest iPhone at Rs 21,000.
The executives told ET that Apple wants to reinforce its premium positioning in India and increase the average selling price. They said that the company has no plans to drop the price of locally-manufactured iPhone 6S.
Apple has reportedly informed stores that it wants to exit outlets less than 350-400 square feet and those that sell less than 35 units a month.
The ET report also said that the company wants to expand the number of Apple-exclusive stores that are over 500 square ft and wants each trade partner to have more than one of these stores.
The report also stated that the company is ending its association with RP Tech for iPhones from April and will consolidate that function with Ingram Micro and Redington. Apple has already terminated its partnership with Brightstar and HCL Infosystems from five of the sellers it had till last year.
(With The Economic Times inputs.)
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