The occasion was a meeting of Apple Store leaders where CEO of the innovative firm Apple, Tim Cook spoke about his plans to increase sales of iPhones through Apple Stores, currently company sells about 20 percent of all iPhones through company owned stores. He further spoke about the possibilities that iPhone has to offer being a gateway product that can lure in large number f unique and new customers for the company as they turned the table for sales through their iPods. He earlier made a public statement regarding the same roadmap for revving up sales at Apple Stores:
“What is clearly happening now is that the iPhone is creating a halo for the Macintosh. The iPhone has also created a halo for iPad.”
While Consumer Intelligence Research Partners, in their research raising alarming questions on Cook’s point of view citing some reasons that make it hard for Apple Stores to bag upto 50% of iPhone sales.
The company needs to increase its retail footprint from current 250 stores to bag in more share, so that it can take on private retail partners which are about 9000 in US only including Best Buy, Radioshack etc. Promotions of other tactics used by Apple like iPhone trade in can also increase volumes but still the road ahead is hard for Apple if it wants to reach such levels of share in trading phones.