Apple is going to take a local approach to iPhone sales in India

Apple plans to go local with a vengeance, setting up small, neighbourhood shops in big cities and tier II markets, in a bid to get closer to potential buyers as it pushes ahead with an India-specific strategy aimed at trying to grab market share from dominant rival Samsung.  The shops will be set up by Apple distributors Redington and Ingram Micro besides existing trade partners and follows the revival of the iPhone 4 for sale in India and other emerging markets.

A new report on Tuesday highlights a potential new approach for Apple in India — a market where the smartphone giant has been struggling — by combining its usual high-end approach in premium stores and resellers with a new “neighborhood shop” franchise of stores that would focus on selling “entry-level” devices — the iPhone 4 (still available in India), the iPhone 4S, the iPad mini and the full-size iPad 2. The report from The Economic Times of India says Apple will work with local distributors in large cities and “tier II” markets to implement the plan, which aims to go head-to-head with Samsung’s mid-range and older smartphones like the Galaxy SIII. The shops will reportedly be very small by Apple standards — 400 to 600 square feet — and focus on iPhones, iPads and iPods alongside entry-level Mac products and accessories.