The FINANCIAL — “Don’t become a victim of fraud. The official iPhone is not accessible in Georgia,” says one of the authorized resellers of apple products in Georgia on its official website – iphone.ge.
However the majority of Georgian customers are not taking into consideration such warnings. According to data provided by iPhone Service, the company selling popular smart phones in Georgia, iPhone occupies 15% of Georgian subscribers. iPhones are everywhere despite the fact the American producer has no official representative office in Georgia.
iPhone Service ltd, a small company registered in Tbilisi, started distribution of Apple iPhones in Georgia in September 2007, two weeks after iPhone first appeared on the global market.
“Since then we have sold approximately 20,000 iPhones,” Mamuka Margishvili, Company Director, told The FINANCIAL.
Margishvili says that the most active period for sales has been the last three months.
“Raised demand for iPhones is especially important as recently Georgian telecommunication companies have started offering Blackberry service,” he says.
“Refined design, and the superior quality of the product are the main determiners of the popularity of the iPhone,” Margishvili declares.
The company imports iPhones mostly from Italy, Japan, Hong Kong and Australia.
Margishvili says that it is not so important the country you import the iPhone from. “What’s important is having original products.”
“Apple is dealing with about 50 of the country’s telecommunication operators offering iPhones to their customers. Some of the operators are paying more for sim-free phones that allow the customer to change operator. The demand for such iPhones is higher. We are selling unblocked iPhones that automatically become activated with US servers,” Margishvili says.
Margishvili notes that he is not importing iPhones from the USA, as the mobile telecommunication operators need to get an agreement first with Apple. “But Apple is not interested in the Georgian market because of its small size,” he says.
“We have information that several local operators have failed in their negotiations with Apple as they did not manage to satisfy their demands. When Russian operators Beeline and MTC received licenses from Apple they became obligated to sell 6 million iPhones per year. Considering this figure we can understand why Georgian operators did not manage to deal successfully with Apple,” Margishvili says.
Margishvili proves that in Georgia, as well as abroad, the demand for Blackberry is not significant.
“The main advantages of the iPhone compared with the Blackberry are the quality of its sensor, revolutionary design and functions. The 3MP camera of the iPhone is better than the 5MP camera of Blackberry,” Margishvili declares.
“Geocell and Magticom started offering Blackberry phones and service because of the cheaper costs and simpler contract circumstances compared with the iPhone. They are not obligated to sell a concrete number of mobiles in a certain amount of time,” Margishvili states.
“Production of the first model of the iPhone, so called 2G, was interrupted after the launch of the 3G upgrade. The latest model is the 3GS. It is faster, more refined and its camera is improved. The price for a 3G iPhone is 1,199 GEL for 8GB and 1,299 GEL for 16GB. The price for a 3GS, 16GB model is 1,699 GEL and 1,899 GEL for 32GB. It is not common for the iPhone cost to be significantly reduced. The cost of the 2G varied around 1,000 USD but in the end we were selling it for 700-800 GEL,” Margishvili says.
Because of the popularity of American smart phones, Elitelectronics, leading retailer of electronics, started offering iPhones last year, but then had to halt import due to financial difficulties.
Mobile phone dealer in Georgia Mobi is also offering Apple iPhones to the population.
Achiko Piriashvili, Marketing Manager of Mobi, one of the biggest mobile phone dealer associated with TBC Bank, thinks that market share of iPhone cannot be so large. “I do not have exact figures, but we can presume that market share of iPhone in Georgia varies around 5-6%”, he tells.
In 2009 sales of iPhones at Mobi consisted GEL 400 000. “We sold about 230 iPhones in 2009,” Piriashvili says.
Karlo Miruashvili, Programmer and Administrator of the webpage Mobi.ge, says the company is not importing Blackberry because of its relative low demand in Georgia.
“Its design is not the only advantage of the iPhone. Having an expensive mobile is very important for the majority of our customers,” Maruashvili says.
“As well as the Chinese Blackberry, you can also find Chinese iPhones that are cheap-priced clones and have nothing in common with the real iPhone, not taking into account the dully compared design. Actually Chinese patents of iPhone, Nokia and Sony Ericson models are very popular among Georgians as their cost generally varies from between 100 GEL to 300 GEL. Such phones usually include the functions of dual cards and TV access. Customers who use such mobile phones obviously pay less attention to the quality of applications,” Maruashvili states.
In Mobi stores the price of an iPhone 3GS black, with 16GB memory is 1,949 GEL, and the iPhone 3GS white, 32GB, is 2,249 GEL.
Maruashvili says that Mobi is distributing official iPhones which work in any country, with any operator. “With such phones customers are also able to make programme updates themselves.”
“The prices of iPhones are higher at Mobi stores as we are offering official iPhones, which do not need to be unblocked and which customers themselves can upload. Mobi is offering mobile phones with the special guarantee card super Mobi, which includes 60% discount for the company’s service. All iPhones offered by Mobi have a one-year factory guarantee,” Maruashvili claims.
Mobi imports iPhones from Italy. “Our customers are offered instalments at TBC Bank and Bank Republic. The approximate interest rate is 2%,” Maruashvili states.
“There are certain advantages of the iPhone compared with the Blackberry and also advantages of the Blackberry compared to the iPhone. It is up to the individual customer’s demands.”
Maruashvili notes that they have a diversified segment of customers. “It includes the business segment and teenagers. Some parents are even buying iPhones for their kids.”
Nata Davitashvili, CEO of Hamaki LLC, Apple Authorized Dealer, says that the global policy of Apple implies distribution of iPhones through the telecommunication companies. Presently none of the telecommunication companies operating on the Georgian market have managed to conduct successful negotiations about distributing iPhones.
Davitashvili says that Apple does not provide warranty services for the products that are sold through non-authorized locations. “Customers should prefer licensed iPhones because of the warranty and technical support considerations.
“The “warranty” offered by iPhone importers in Georgia is just up to the distributor’s discretion,” she says.
“Use of unlocked iPhones is connected with serious risks in terms of informational security. There are many counterfeit iPhones in Georgia, which have nothing in common with the certified Apple products,” Davitashvili says.
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