In Without an iota of doubt, Steve Jobs is the single biggest marketing genius born in recent times. Thus every time he takes a podium at an Apple Event, announcing a new product or gadget, millions not only watch agog but also lineup outside Apple stores to buy the products.
Little wonder then, Apple products are most sought after ones, be it iPods, iPhones or even iPads. Considering the hype and the clamor, Apple has always been under pressure to cater to the demands of its customers. Thus the company adopted a staggered launch approach. Namely, releasing its products in different markets at different times. This ensured that it was able to tap the market judiciously and there was no inventory at hand that the company had to deal with.
Not surprisingly, the fledgling Indian market was not much high on the company's radar. Thus in the past, there was almost a disdain towards India. So while, the first iPhone was launched in the US in Jan 2007, it took the company much time to finally launch iPhone 3G in September 2009. Similarly, iPad 1 debuted in India a good 10 months after the international launch. This led to much angst in Indian customers, with many belaboring Apple for its lackadaisical approach towards Indian market.
Thus, Indians were much surprised, and this time pleasantly, when Apple has launched the iPad 2 in India in just under 2 months of US launch. For once, the story seemed different and all the Apple lovers were thrilled at the prospect of grabbing the latest tablet.
While, there were no long lines outsides the Apple resellers (the company does not have an official store in India), iPad 2 were much in demand from the very first day. In total, there are 12 SKUs (Stock-keeping unit) of the iPad 2, there is the 16 GB, 32 GB and 64 GB versions in 2 variants namely with 3G and without 3G. Next, these 6 iPads are available in two colors, black & white. The pricing for these tablets is also much competitive, with the lowest starting from Rs. 29,000 and the highest version going to Rs. 47,000.
Strangely, while the lower versions of the iPads are readily available, it is the high-end versions that have gone missing and are much in demand. At all the iPad resellers, the 64 GB, 3G + Wi-Fi version are not in stock. The demand for the same has outstripped the supply so much that resellers like Croma, Ezone, Reliance Digital, and others have even stopped taking pre-orders of the same. Currently, the waiting time for the 64 GB piece is quoted at around 2 months.
According to one of the Apple consultants, the problem has been much compounded by the recent blast at Foxconn's manufacturing plant in Chengdu, China. This has led to further disruption in the supply, resulting in longer delays.
Even so, there is no doubt that Apple was itself taken aback by the way Indians bought out the high-end iPad 2 version. While the company does not share its sales data, a spokesperson for Apple said that the first stock was sold out within a couple of hours of its launch. The company is currently struggling to meet up with the huge tomes of preorders that have already been placed with the company.
While, the Apple head honcho for India did not revert to a request for clarification. The situation on ground seems to be fairly chaotic. All the customers who have already paid up the money for the iPads are currently waiting for an update from the company on the status, especially regarding the impact from the Foxconn blast.
The good thing from the success of iPad 2 in India is, that next time when Jobs (health permitting) takes the podium to announce a product, the managers in the back will be working furtively on how to early to launch the same in India. Hopefully soon enough, we will see those overnight serpentine queues outside Apple stores in India, like they are in the US. But for that to happen, the giant from Cupertino, needs to gets it act together and fast.
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