Shane Cole
After dropping the iPhone in 2009 in a dispute over sales guarantees, Megafon — Â Russia's second-largest wireless carrier — has inked a contract that will bring Apple's popular handset back to the carrier's shelves, according to a Monday report.
The deal will last for three years, though it is unclear exactly which iPhone models Megafon will sell — Â carriers in some neighboring countries still stock Apple's iPhone 4, for instance, alongside the newest iPhone 5s and 5c models. News of the agreement was first reported by Reuters.
Megafon initially reached an agreement to carry the iPhone 3G in 2008, but the relationship soured one year later when the company decided it was unable to meet Apple's demands.
With just over 68 million subscribers, Megafon is larger than American counterparts Sprint and T-Mobile but substantially smaller than AT&T or Verizon, which each boast more than 100 million customers. It is the second of Russia's big three wireless carriers to reenter a sales contract with Apple after third-place Vimpelcom did so last October, leaving only market leader MTS — Â who purchases iPhones from a distributor — Â without an official agreement.
The new pact with Megafon is Apple's latest move to expand its sales presence in the pan-continental nation. The Cupertino, Calif.-based company brought iTunes to Russia in late 2012, then launched an official online store in the country last June, though it still does not have a brick-and-mortar presence.
Apple's iPhone currently holds a 9 percent share of the overall smartphone market in Russia, but commands 20 percent of the industry's revenues, Reuters notes.
Wesley Hilliard
Malcolm Owen
Christine McKee
Andrew Orr
William Gallagher
4 Comments
"carriers in some neighboring countries still stock Apple's iPhone 4" And Apple reportedly is restarting 4 or 4s sales in India... Can't blame them, I did love that design.
And they haven’t been sold in FOUR YEARS.
Anyone stupid enough to support Android needs to be committed.
Although Apple doesn't have brick and mortar stores in Russia there is an active third party store community (Apple certified). When the very first iPhone came out, I was lucky enough to purchase one and then had a trip to St. Petersburg. I showed it to the folks at the "Apple store" there and they were all bug eyed - having only read about its release a few weeks earlier. We hooked up their local wifi and they surfed the net. Apple products are premium priced, and they are viewed as both a premium product and as a status symbol of success in Russia.
And they haven’t been sold in FOUR YEARS.
Anyone stupid enough to support Android needs to be committed.
Wow! We're in agreement!
Just like Verizon's top management needs to be fired!
Forward thinking?
More like more foreskin than foresight! :)
Best.