By R. Jai Krishna and Dhanya Ann Thoppil
NEW DELHI--Technology products distributor Ingram Micro Inc.
(IM) Friday said it will sell Apple Inc.'s (AAPL) iPhone 5 in India
starting Nov. 2.
A spokesman for Apple's local unit confirmed the statement, but
declined to give further details.
Ingram Micro didn't say how much Apple's latest smartphone will
cost in India, but said that it will be available in stores such as
Reliance Digital -- the consumer durables business of Reliance
Retail Ltd. -- and the Croma chain, which is owned by the Tata
group's Infinity Retail Ltd.
Cupertino, Calif.-based Apple started selling the iPhone 5 in
most of its major markets, such as the U.S. and the U.K., more than
a month ago.
The India launch will come at a time when Apple has changed the
way it sells iPhones in the country.
Until now, it sold the iPhone through Indian telecom providers,
which bundle the phones with data services. As Indian telecom
companies don't subsidize the cost of iPhones, their sales have
been limited, according to analysts.
But Apple, which doesn't provide country-specific sales data,
has now tied up with the local operations of Ingram Micro as well
as with Redington India Ltd. (532805.BY), a local distributor with
12,000 partner outlets across the country, to sell the iPhone.
A spokesman for Redington wasn't immediately available to
confirm when it would start selling the iPhone 5.
Analysts say sales of iPhones through these distributors are
likely to help Apple improve its marketshare, but they warned that
it could also hit margins because the company will have to share
profits.
The iPhone 5 sold in India won't have some features, such as map
directions. But it will include a local search feature, access to
Apple's applications store and games software, according to the
company's website.
Write to R. Jai Krishna at krishna.jai@dowjones.com