“After years of wooing, Russian mobile carriers are finally coming around to the iPhone — not that they have much choice,” Ilya Khrennikov reports for Bloomberg. “iPhone sales in the country doubled last year to 1.57 million, bringing in $1 billion, according to researcher IDC. That’s despite the fact that at midyear, none of Russia’s top three wireless carriers were selling Apple’s phones.”
“Apple wanted carriers in Russia to cover the costs of subsidizing and promoting the iPhone, like they do in the U.S. and other developed markets. However, Russia has laws preventing phone companies from discounting devices in exchange for longer contracts,” Khrennikov reports. “So Apple went around the phone companies by distributing iPhones through electronics stores such as Svyaznoy. That chain probably sold about 700,000 Apple phones last year, with most of them being the older iPhone 4 and 4s models priced below $500, said Eldar Murtazin, an independent analyst in Russia.”
Khrennikov reports, “Apple’s plan B did the trick. Carriers have begun restoring ties with Apple in the past few months. MegaFon resumed its contract to sell iPhones last month after a three-year hiatus. Mobile TeleSystems and VimpelCom brought iPhones back to their shelves in October.”
Read more in the full article here.
MacDailyNews Take: Fake iPhones can’t cut it. Quality customers will go elsewhere. Real carriers offer Apple iPhones.
[Thanks to MacDailyNews Readers “David E.” and “steve h.” for the heads up.]
Related articles:
Russia’s Megafon signs new iPhone deal with Apple after four-year break – January 28, 2014
Apple wants to use the iPhone to take a bigger bite out of Russia – August 26, 2013
Big three Russian mobile phone carriers say ‘nyet’ to Apple’s iPhone – July 16, 2013
Russian carrier blames ‘Apple ‘dictatorship’ for $1,000 iPhone price – August 2, 2012
MegaFon to sell Apple iPhone in Russia – September 2, 2008
Vimpelcom inks deal with Apple to sell iPhone 3G in Russia – August 28, 2008
Hahaha!
These situations exist when a government tells companies and private citizens how they can and can not arrange private deals for the purchase &/or use of a product.
These comments exist when a person spouts an un-nuanced opinion, using blanket statements to describe wide range of causes and actions, having little to do with the topic at hand.
I live in Russia and what BoC said is just true. The obnoxious amount of control aimed solely to sucking all the money out of businesses causes just the two obvious things: corruption and death of small businesses. Large european and american companies only get a headache from such relationships.
And gratuitous, uninformed criticism (like that from anonymous coward RevDrX) exists when people who are too lazy to think about how things affect each other at multiple levels are permitted access to computers. Or voting booths.
well said, BoC.
The BRICs are now in the fold to stay.
Well done, Mr. Cook.
This year, with carriers on board, is going to be better.
Apple gained market share in Russia at the expense of Samsung.
Samsung spends many times more in advertisement than Apple (in Russia, there is almost no Apple advertisements), and yet the company’s sales by monetary value in the region were just 1/3 smaller than Samsung’s. In quantity, Apple was 10% versus Samsung’s 30% (significantly down from 2012).
drip by drip.
And those low life Commie bastards won’t let the women buy lace panties. Guess the dumbasses like their chicks in boxer shorts.
If would be much better if those would be just “Commie bastards”, as “Commie” ideology despises greed, while in the current vulture capitalist system greed is everything. Of course, ideally, the system should be mix between capitalism and socialism like Sweden and Finland, for example (I do not take Norway due to their rich natural resources).
let me stamp that passport for ya and adi-fucking-os, muchacho.
That about made me pee my knickers!
I was just getting to the point where I could take you seriously but then you had to go and off your meds again.
Oh give it a break Nancy, your schtick grows old.
Putin is gay. His boys bent right over for Apple.
Time for a coming out party!