Losing market share to Samsung last quarter after pulling out the iPhone 4 model as a part of global strategy, has forced Apple to re-think its strategy and is likely to relaunch iPhone 4’s 8GB version in the Indian market.
The iPhone maker, struggling to raise its market share in India will make the device available for around 15,000 INR for people opting for buyback and EMI schemes as compared to the model’s old retail price of 26,500 INR.
As the iPhone 4 production was stopped by Apple last August-September, it is most likely that the company will be sourcing unsold inventory of the model from across globe for the Indian market. However, this is yet to be verified.
One of the leading electronic retail chain’s senior executive in India was spotted saying “While there is still a latent demand for the iPhone 4 due to its attractive price in India, the model has lost favour in matured markets and hence it may not make sense for Apple to start fresh production since it follows economies of scale.”
Apple’s decision to stop selling iPhone 4’s 8GB version in the last quarter to push sales of its latest devices failed to work in its favour and instead lead to a marginal decline in overall sales.
“Apple’s iPhone 4 8GB model used to rank amongst the top three selling models by unit sales and fight neck and neck with Samsung, but with its exit the company lost much ground,” added the electronic retail chain’s executive.
According to CMR data, Apple’s Indian smartphone market share, which went up to more than 4% in October-December 2012 and January-March 2013, has declined to around 1.4% in October 2013. In contrast, rival company Samsung’s share increased to 42% from 33% during the same period.
