Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) has finally scored the number two spot with their iPhone 5 in India. Analysts claim that although Apple still has yet to oust Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd. (LON:BC94) (KRX:005930) from the number one spot in India’s market, they are starting to make an impact.
Venu Reddy (technology marketing firm IDC research director) reported In Q4, “Apple has turned out to be the number two player in India. And this means that they have done a significant shift in their positioning.”
Samsung still remains in the lead with 38.8 percent of the market share. Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) takes second place with 15.6 percent while Sony sits at third place with 9.4 percent. Nokia Corporation (NYSE:NOK) (BIT:NOK1V) (HEL:NOK1V) is at the bottom with 7.3 percent.
“The reality of the Indian market in general is that the most of the electronics are bought at individual shops, maybe because of the nature of the buying behavior of the Indian market itself,” said Global Gadgets’ Gurvinder Singh.
Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL)’s current success in India can be attributed to its ability to adapt to India’s smartphone market. Since most of the gadgets are sold in locally owned shops and mom-and-pop retailers, it’s important that Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) not only understands that business market but makes the right accommodations for success. Unlike the United States, mobile phones are not subsidized in India.
Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL)’s older strategy in India worked against the tech giant as the iPhone retailed for 30 percent more than in the U.S. Customers there also had to wait about a year for the latest smartphones to arrive which meant they were always left out of the most current technology.
Last month, the company overhauled their operations in India which meant that over 252,000 iPhones were shipped during the fourth quarter. That number was more than triple from the third quarter.
This is good news for customers who have been wanting the iPhone for awhile. As one customer, Akanshya Balram, elaborated, “Suddenly, everyone was throwing their Blackberries, Samsungs, Nokias and everyone was kind of changing to an iPhone.”
