iPhone imports on the rise in Russia – Vedomosti — RT Business News
Supplies recovered thanks to parallel imports after Apple exited the country’s market last year.
Russian imports of Apple’s iPhone jumped 15% in the first half of 2023, to 1.1 million devices, the Vedomosti newspaper reported on Wednesday, citing data from analysis center GS Group.
According to the report, the sales volume amounted to 105.7 billion rubles (over $1 billion). In monetary terms, Apple devices remain in the lead in the Russian market (34%), followed by Chinese Xiaomi (19%) and South Korean Samsung (16%). However, in unit terms, Apple’s smartphone market share fell to 9% due to lower demand, compared to 27.9% market share for Xiaomi and 12.7% for Samsung. It is also lower than that of the Chinese Realmi and Tecno, with respectively 12.1% and 10.4% of the Russian market share.
The statistics also showed that the number of iPhones imported into Russia through parallel imports in the first six months of this year was one million units lower than in the same period of 2021 – before the penalties.
Apple stopped selling iPhones and other products in Russia last March, joining the exodus of Western brands amid Ukraine-related sanctions. In April, the company stopped providing warranty service for Macs and iPads in the country.
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Russian retailers source iconic gadgets from other countries through parallel imports, a practice whereby a non-counterfeit product is imported without permission from the intellectual property owner through alternative supply channels. Russia has legalized the mechanism to supply the market with goods that Western companies have stopped delivering or producing in Russia due to the sanctions.
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