We cannot take that something drove Tim Cook and he
took an Indian sojourn just for that.
We cannot say but he is certainly not in the kind of
circumstances (and his Indian itinerary suggests this as well), that he would
be forced (by his inner call) to look for spiritual solace of Orientalism -
like his company's defining soul, Steve Jobs, had done.
We also cannot say, again based on his entourage, his
itinerary and his engagements that he was here, in this country, for a planned
or random tourism trip.
But then, how can we take on the face value, the implicit
and explicit contours of his long India visit, spread over four days - for the specific
purpose of promoting Apple's business interests in India - given the facts that
the sum total of the purpose of his visit was restricted to emphasizing on
those very measures which have pushed Apple to the periphery of India's tech
market - including the blockbuster segment of smartphones?
If Apple has just around 2 per cent market segment in
India's smartphone market, projected to be second largest soon (globally), it
is Apple's own doing - with a blind race
to establish iPhone as a super-premium model.
And the way Apple decided to do it - was reflective of
how it treated India.
First, it would create a false impression of
exclusivity by keeping a large market like India in the last rounds of iPhone
launch.
Then, it would price iPhone astronomically high,
making it, again, an exclusive possession of the very few, even if it was
available on lower price points in other markets.
And above all, it tried to dump its old models in
India - as if Indians were not able to afford its latest launches. It always
sent the message that Apple considered India a market only for its obsolete
models - or a market for refurbished iPhones.
When every other company, including Samsung and the
Chinese vendors, see India as a market with immense potential and make it a
point to announce global launches simultaneously in India. They even launch
specific models for the Indian market.
By the time Apple realized where it erred, it had
become too late. This long visit by Tim Cook, after the first ever dip in
iPhone sales, shows that. Because it came too late.
Or Apple has really realized where it erred?
It doesn't seem so.
Especially after the indications that we are getting
after Tim Cook's high-flying socializing and strategising stopovers in India.
Reports say the main focus of Tim Cook's India visit
was convincing the Indian government about its refurbished iPhone business and
setting up Apple stores without the mandatory 30 per cent local sourcing
clause.
These are again shabby and 'poor in taste' elements
and emphasize Apple's superiority complex (if I take the liberty to use the
term) - the very elements that have pushed Apple to a marketing oblivion in
India.
And, if this was really the intent of Tim Cook's India
vision, then it was so poorly thought. While others companies tried to own the
Indian market in order to win it, the basic of any marketing strategy, Apple disowned
the Indian customer - as if he never figured in the their scheme of things.
But if it was not so - then the million dollar
question is - why Tim Cook made this India visit?
©/IPR: Santosh Chaubey - http://severallyalone.blogspot.com/
