Apple has reduced retail margins on the iPhone X by nearly 30%, frustrating large format chain owners and small-scale retailers that are crying foul that the Cupertino-based company does not want its retail partners to benefit while the company itself profits from the massive margins it makes. 

Some like Bengaluru-based Sangeetha Mobiles have stopped taking orders of the new flagship, even as the costliest iPhone ever faces a huge supply-demand mismatch in India, causing analysts to .. 

“Apple gives the least margins… How on earth do they expect the retailer to work for them for free — our overheads are anywhere around 10%,” Chandra explained. 

Apple declined to comment on the margin cuts and supply issues in India. Industry insiders reveal that typically, brands such as Samsung or Xiaomi offer more than double the margin that Apple offers, around 12-15%. To gain share from competition, players like Oppo and Vivo were also giving higher than usual margins to retaile .. 

A chief executive of another top retail chain in India added that it had stopped stocking iPhones across its 300 stores due to the cut in margins and owing to lack of control on retail pricing in the online and offline markets. Those in the unorganised trade also complain of Apple having cut margins on the iPhone X at a time when the device is under severe supply constraint. 

“People are ready to give a premium on the phone, so we don’t have an option but to work with Apple’s margin  .. 

Source: economictimes