Apple plans flagship outlets in key locations to drive sales in India

With Apple’s plan to open company-owned stores on the back-burner pending government approval, the iPhone maker is going with the next best option: bigger franchisee outlets at key locations in metropolitan cities.
These 5-6 franchisee-run outlets will each be at least three times larger than the current, 1,000-squarefoot stores and may even go up to 5,000 square foot, three senior industry executives said. The ‘Flagship Apple Premium Reseller’ outlets will become a “stepdown” version of the iconic company-owned Apple Retail Stores and will come up in “extremely prominent locations” as anchor shops in malls and high-street shopping areas, the executives said.

Cupertino, California-based Apple is trying to reinforce its premium reputation in the Indian market and drive experience-based sales after brand dilution brought about by excessive online discounting, they said.

The company currently has about 150 franchisee run Apple Premium Reseller stores in India, which are up to 1,500 square feet in area. One such franchise holder said the flagship stores will come up in New Delhi, Mumbai, Bengaluru and Chennai, which are Apple’s biggest markets in India, and later in Hyderabad and Pune.


“With company-owned Apple Stores yet to take shape in the country, Apple wants some of the franchisee run outlets to up the experience game through this new format. This is part of Apple’s new India strategy to focus on selling on experience rather than discount,” he said.

Apple is even open to the idea of a couple of these flagship stores being as large as 5,000 square feet if a suitable location is available. “The key is getting the right location, which is not easy. A team from the company is identifying locations,” an executive said.

An Apple India spokesperson declined to comment on the matter. Apple India’s country head Michel Coulomb, who took charge in December, is driving this turnaround plan, which includes expanding sales from reseller stores and large retail chains and expanding the number of such outlets in all cities.

ET recently reported that Apple’s iPhone sales in India had nosedived in the April-June quarter due to business restructuring. Hong Kong-based Counterpoint Technology Market Research reported that Apple was pushed down to the third slot in the Rs 30,000-plus premium smartphone segment in India for the first time, with a record low 14% share. OnePlus led with an over 40% share, followed by Samsung with 35%.

Apple India’s sales revamp strategy involves moving from five distributors to two, reigning in the rapid expansion into neighbourhood stores that has failed to provide consumer experience and entering into new agreements with all partners including online sellers and offline stores to ensure sales take place at company-mandated prices.