Apple's first midnight launch saw buyers queueing up from Thursday night at stores that stayed specially open to allow those who pre-ordered the iPhone 6 and 6 Plus to be the first to get them. The company has been seeking to remedy its former neglect of India as a market for smartphones, currently dominated by Samsung and others, by stepping up its sales efforts, including exchange offers, installment plans and now midnight sales.
People who pre-ordered the devices and many who didn't lined up at stores across the big Indian cities. "I came in early, so I got a chance to be among the first few," said 25-year-old Didar Singh, who picked up an iPhone 6 Plus from a reseller in an upmarket south Delhi locality, having reached the store at around 9.30 pm.
He was among about 250 people queuing up at four stores holding midnight iPhone sales at the market in Greater Kailash. On hand were bean bags, free energy drinks and a big TV screen on which a countdown started at 11.30 pm.
The launch is part of Apple's bid to drum up excitement about the new devices as it seeks to gain a stronger foothold in the Indian market and attempts to compete with rivals unveiling new devices. The India iPhone launch followed sales openings in the US and other markets on September 19. Thursday also saw the unveiling of upgraded iPads in the US by Apple while Google announced a new phone and tablet the previous day. Rival Samsung has recently launched the Samsung Galaxy Alpha and started selling the Note 4 on Friday.
In Gurgaon, a Starbucks outlet stayed open late to provide sustenance to those waiting for iPhone sales to start. There was a significant police presence as well, to keep the peace. The demand, more for the iPhone 6 than the 6 Plus, wasn't restricted to Delhi and Mumbai, with Kolkata and Chennai also seeing an unprecedented rush for the devices as Apple embarked on its biggest pan-India launch. India is a focus area for the Cupertino-based company as underlined by CEO Tim Cook's references to it in recent comments.
Enthusiasm for the devices was "surprisingly high in Kolkata," said Himanshu Chakrawarti, CEO of The Mobile Store, India's largest cellphone retail chain. "The first day and this weekend will be all about providing the new handsets to the pre-booked customers and we will start booking again from Saturday to ensure that customers can get it when fresh inventory arrives," said Chakrawarti.
Harirul Anam Khan, a third-year B Com student, was happy to buy the champagne gold iPhone 6 for Rs 53,500, although he had pre-registered for the space gray version, which was unlikely to be in stock anytime soon, he was told. "I use an iPhone 4S now, but couldn't resist upgrading to an iPhone 6," he said.
Just ahead of Diwali, there is concern that Apple may not be able to keep up with demand. The Apple India team has asked the parent to rush another 50,000-55,000 units by early next week, according to two senior executives close to Apple's trade team. "There is a strong indication that fresh stocks will hit by Monday evening so that Apple can make the maximum of Dhanteras and Diwali sales," said one of them. Some stores weren't that hopeful about an early replenishment of stocks.
A store manager in Kolkata said it had stopped taking any pre-orders until fresh supplies from distributors Ingram Micro and
Redington arrived to help with its immediate delivery commitment of some 60-80 units. "We are telling new customers who haven't pre-booked to expect fresh stocks only by November-end."
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