Offline retailers across cities are facing a shortfall of Apple iPhone 17 series devices ahead of the mega Diwali season, leaving many fuming and blaming the US major's distribution strategy for creating confusion.
Large retail chains such as Croma and Vijay Sales as well as local dealers at Asia's biggest electronics marketplace in Delhi are running out of iPhone inventory amid high demand even as Apple continues to depend on imports for the flagship iPhone 17 Pro units, trade insiders said.
"We have no iPhone 17 inventory currently and have no visibility when the new stock is going to arrive. It's stuck from the company's distribution side only," a retail chain manager said on condition of anonymity.
The person said they are being forced to turn back at least 10-12 potential customers every day.
Retailers, including multi-brand outlets and large-format stores, consider it a "missed opportunity" during pre-Diwali sales.
Some shop owners said they are losing customers to company-owned stores and e-commerce players, following Apple's uneven distribution strategy.
Sector analysts and experts attribute the shortfall to the Cupertino-based firm's import strategy.
"Apple is expected to soon start rolling out Made in India iPhone 17 Pro devices, which could alleviate concerns to meet the pent-up demand across a wider number of stores this year," Neil Shah, vice president, research, and cofounder at Counterpoint Research, told ETTelecom.
The initial iPhone 17 Pro units were imported, limiting the availability further, he said.
Queries to Apple India, Croma and Vijay Sales did not elicit any response as of press time Tuesday.
Ecommerce platforms Amazon and Flipkart are mainly selling the high-end variants iPhone 17 Pro and Max, starting at Rs 1,54,900.
The smartphone maker, according to retail network executives, has allocated less inventory to third-party offline and online retailers this year, leaving them in a lurch.
"We are experiencing supply shortage from the company (Apple) and there is nothing that we can do to fix it," a Noida-based Croma retail executive said.
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The situation is no different at the one of the largest electronics marketplaces at Delhi's Nehru Place.
Large retail chains such as Croma and Vijay Sales as well as local dealers at Asia's biggest electronics marketplace in Delhi are running out of iPhone inventory amid high demand even as Apple continues to depend on imports for the flagship iPhone 17 Pro units, trade insiders said.
"We have no iPhone 17 inventory currently and have no visibility when the new stock is going to arrive. It's stuck from the company's distribution side only," a retail chain manager said on condition of anonymity.
The person said they are being forced to turn back at least 10-12 potential customers every day.
Retailers, including multi-brand outlets and large-format stores, consider it a "missed opportunity" during pre-Diwali sales.
Some shop owners said they are losing customers to company-owned stores and e-commerce players, following Apple's uneven distribution strategy.
Sector analysts and experts attribute the shortfall to the Cupertino-based firm's import strategy.
"Apple is expected to soon start rolling out Made in India iPhone 17 Pro devices, which could alleviate concerns to meet the pent-up demand across a wider number of stores this year," Neil Shah, vice president, research, and cofounder at Counterpoint Research, told ETTelecom.
The initial iPhone 17 Pro units were imported, limiting the availability further, he said.
Queries to Apple India, Croma and Vijay Sales did not elicit any response as of press time Tuesday.
Ecommerce platforms Amazon and Flipkart are mainly selling the high-end variants iPhone 17 Pro and Max, starting at Rs 1,54,900.
The smartphone maker, according to retail network executives, has allocated less inventory to third-party offline and online retailers this year, leaving them in a lurch.
"We are experiencing supply shortage from the company (Apple) and there is nothing that we can do to fix it," a Noida-based Croma retail executive said.
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