Apple is planning to open stores in India which will only sell iOS devices following significant growth in sales of the iPhone and iPad over the past several years. Our sister site BGR India reports that the exclusive stores will contain three weeks worth of supply once they’re up and running and should require just 3-4 employees to operate, including a store manager, an iOS promoter and one or two sales managers. Apple will also take on 50% of the cost for the 10-15 demo units required to appear at each location.
This is apparently going to be a relatively barebones operation, but still an encouraging sign for a high-end smartphone vendor in a region where budget devices reign supreme. In fact, sources say that Apple could sell up to 1 million iPhones in India during the fiscal year ending in September.
“Apple has adapted well for the retail market in India. By launching EMI schemes and buyback offers, making the iPhone 4 available in India as an entry-level device while it was discontinued in most parts of the world, launching low-end variant of the iPhone 5C 8GB, the company has managed to leverage its iconic brand by making various models available at different price points, catering to multiple consumer segments, and ensuring volume sales growth,” Convergence Catalyst partner Jayanth Kolla told BGR India.
