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Derek Kessler
Apple's sales expansion plans hinge on Asia, and while China gets most of the attention, Vietnam is also a target for selling more iPhones. Along with the rest of the smartphone market, Apple seems to have hit a market saturation point in North American and Eastern Europe. But growth of the smartphone market in Asia is exploding right now, and will likely continue to be so for a while. In Vietnam, Apple has partnered with electronics retailer FPT's F.Studio stores to sell the iPhone direct to consumers.
According to Bloomberg, people in Vietnam crave the iPhone:
Apple products are popular in Vietnam, where a brand-savvy young population covets the instant recognition a slender iPhone brings, said Lam Nguyen, Ho Chi Minh City-based country director at International Data Corp. He predicts Vietnam smartphone sales will increase 56 percent to about 12 million units in 2014, and Apple will get a good chunk of that.
"There are more and cheaper alternatives out there," Nguyen said in a phone interview. "This is about a relatively affordable status symbol. It's fashion."
FPT has been selling Apple products for a while now, but until recently Apple only sold iPhones in Vietnam through their carrier partner stores. The expanded retailer partnership comes just a few months before the anticipated launch of the iPhone 6, which is projected to be a gangbusters launch.
What do you think of Apple's focus on southeast Asia?
Source: Bloomberg
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