apple sales
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8/13/2019 Apple Sales
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Apple may slash the price of iPhone 4S, encouraged by the surge in July-September sales of iPhones in
emerging markets such as India, CEO Tim Cook suggested in remarks made in a conference call with
analysts.
The price cut may ensue as Apple is withdrawing the $400 iPhone 4 from the market. Cook said 4S will
become the entry model that will drive adoption of Apple iPhones among first-time users in emerging
markets.
"As you know from comments that I've made previously, we're selling iPhone 4 in very good volumes and
as we begin to experiment in different regions, at somewhat lower price points, we saw a fair amount of
price elasticity and so we're hoping and thinking that, that will continue with 4S," Cook said on the
quarterly earnings call.
This is the second consecutive quarter in which the Apple management spoke about rising sales in India.
"We were particularly pleased with growth in a number of developing markets, with unit sales up sharply,
year-over-year in Latin America, the Middle-East, Russia and India," Chief Financial Officer Peter
Oppenheimer said on the call. Globally, iPhone sales rose 26% from the year-ago quarter to 33.8 millionunits.
Cook didn't specify whether the 4S will be priced the same as the iPhone 4. "As you know, currency
changes and the strength of the dollar (don't) play in our favour in some (geographies)... but generally we
see 4S as our entry iPhone offer that gives somebody the ability to access the entire ecosystem with a
fantastic product," he said. "We clearly understand that there is elasticity in that market and we will move
accordingly."
Earlier this year, Apple lowered the price of iPhone 4 to Rs 26,500 with a buyback offer that offered an
additional Rs 7,000 discount against any old smartphone, which helped Apple rapidly gain market share.
About a week ago, Apple lowered the price of iPhone 4S 16GB version to Rs 34,500 from Rs 38,500 and
is to launch an 8GB model, the price of which is yet to be announced.
Apple will need an iPhone in the Rs 20,000-25,000 bracket to drive sales volume, said Himanshu
Chakrawarti, CEO of The MobileStore, the country's largest cellphone retailer. He said iPhone 4 accounts
for 50% of total iPhone sales by value and almost 65-70% by volume in his stores.
Following third-quarter earnings in July, Cook had said iPhone sales in India grew 400%, one of the
fastest expansions worldwide for the company. The acknowledgment of India's business potential in two
consecutive quarters contrasts, with Cook having said last year that he felt there were better business
opportunities elsewhere.