Apple to pull iPhone 6 and 6 Plus models, raise entry prices in sharp India reset

“Apple will stop selling the iPhone 6 and 6 Plus in India and move out of small stores and outlets where sales don’t exceed 35 units per month, three senior industry executives said,” Writankar Mukherjee reports for The Economic Times. “The strategy is to reinforce Apple’s premium positioning in the Indian market and increase the entry price of iPhones by more than Rs 5,000 [US$72] with the iPhone 6s and 6s Plus.”
“The iPhone maker had offered the iPhone 6 (32 GB) — introduced in 2014 — at about Rs 24,900,” Mukherjee reports. “The equivalent iPhone 6s version costs Rs 29,900. Apple has progressively increased the entry-level pricing in India from Rs 21,000 last year for the iPhone SE, which it took off brick-and-mortar shelves to shed the ‘discounted brand’ tag, the executives said.”
“‘It wants to reinforce the brand’s ‘premiumness’ in the Indian market and increase average selling prices. Apple has no plans to immediately drop prices of iPhone 6s, which is locally manufactured,’ an executive said,” Mukherjee reports. “The iPhone 6s is made in India through contract manufacturer Wistron, which also makes limited quantities of iPhone SE sold mostly online. The government has approved Wistron’s Rs 5,000-crore plan to produce the top-end iPhone models in the country.”
Read more in the full article here.
MacDailyNews Take: Because, as our own SteveJack explained this rather concisely years ago:
Apple sells premium products at premium prices to premium customers. — SteveJack, MacDailyNews, October 23, 2012
If you can’t afford an iPhone, you can’t afford an iPhone.
You do not what to be a user of cut-rate devices, unless you want the type of R&D that delivers products that are woefully behind in performance like, for example, Android phones. – MacDailyNews, September 19, 2017
SEE ALSO:
No one wants a ‘cheap’ iPhone: Apple sells premium products – December 10, 2018
Apple thrives by going upscale: It is Economics 101 – September 26, 2018
Apple doesn’t do low budget – August 27, 2018
Morgan Stanley: Apple benefits when they raise prices – September 19, 2017