Argentina, for Apple, is a market with two faces. On the one hand, the manzanita brand just released a new commercial with a futuristic script shot in the heart of downtown Buenos Aires. But on the other hand there is the company of the bitten apple enormous difficulties in getting their famous iPhone into the country legally. In the first two months of the year, its official distributors were able to import just 742 pieces of equipment, compared to 8,000 in the same period a year earlier, a drop of 91%.
Both facets, for fans of the brand, largely reflect the current economic reality. Last week, Apple has released a promotional video for the latest version of AirPods Proits famous wireless headphones, which allow adjust the audio to suit each user. It also has a noise cancellation system (surround sound), which prevents the filtering of external noise and improves listening quality.
Hence the choice of the center of Buenos Aires to produce the video, in theory, one of the noisiest areas of the city. Apple, on the other hand, is considered an ambitious brand all over the world and also in Argentina. Especially the iPhone, the flagship mobile phone from the company founded by Steve Jobs, which addresses the combined effects of equities, rate hikes and the dollar shortage.
As soon as it was released, the commercial went viral on social media. Many users have expressed their pride in choosing the city as the setting for spreading the benefits of AirPods.
Between January and February, iPhone 14 imports (the latest version was released in September 2022) collapsed 90.7% compared to the same two months of the previous year, according to a report by the MRT (Market, Research & Technology) consultancy. The category ranking is led by the Koreans Samsung and Motorola (of the Chinese group Lenovo), which assemble their mobile phones in Tierra del Fuego in alliance respectively with Mirgor and Newsan.
The two brands account for more than 90% of mobile phone sales in it for several years. Samsung and Apple are the two largest manufacturers in the world. Argentina is a market where around 10 million units are shipped annually, despite the crisis, high inflation and rising consumer credit.
Due to company policy, Apple has never agreed to produce locally. But he delegated brand representation to 4 official distributors: Mac Station, iPoint (from the Fuegian Etercor group), One Click and Maxim, which directly import their entire product line, including iMac computers, iPad tablets and even AirPods.
iPhones have always had a testimonial presence in the country, with or without stock. The main reason is its high cost compared to other markets. For example, iPhone 14 Pro Max (the top-of-the-line model), with 256GB of storage costs $1,167,924, or the equivalent of US$3,031 to the price of blue. In the US, the same device with the same configuration comes in at US$1,375, less than half that.
The trap complicates other big brands, such as the Chinese giant Xiaomi. In any case, iPhones have never managed to take off in Argentina since they were first launched in 2007. «In addition to the import difficulties, there is the obligation to finance the 180-day payment (the cost of hedging) and rising rates, which prevents hire-purchase,” grumbles an industry source.
This is despite the appeal that Apple has for many consumers, who access the products unofficially. “Those who use iPhone will still buy version 14, but through other channels”, they point out. This through online sales platforms, on tourist trips abroad or through “ant smuggling” maneuvers, which are very difficult to detect.
Source: Clarin
