Apple and Orange combine to conquer France: US export iPhone sells 90,000
February 6, 2008
In France, it’s always been popular to be thin, chic and beautiful, so it’s no surprise that the Apple iPhone has taken France by storm since it was introduced in November 2007.
Orange, the leading wireless carrier in France and the exclusive French carrier partner for the revolutionary iPhone, reported that Apple iPhone sales topped 90,000 in France at the end of January. The company had already reported sales of 70,000 iPhones by the end of 2007 after barely one month. Now an additional 20,000 have been reported sold in January 2008.
The iPhone numbers in France either impress or miss the mark, depending on one’s point of view. On the one hand, Orange, the exclusive distributor of IPhone in France, is thrilled. Of the people who bought iPhones 49% are new Orange subscribers, suggesting that iPhone is what attracted these new customers into the Orange fold and raised their market share in the mobile arena significantly. 80% of these new iPhone customers signed up for monthly Orange plans costing between 49 and 119 euros, in addition to the hefty 339 euros each paid for their iPhone handset.
iPhone combines three devices into one—a mobile phone, a widescreen iPod, and a mobile Internet device, all based on Apple’s multi-touch interface and software that allows users to control iPhone with just a tap of their fingers. Apple sold its one millionth iPhone just 74 days after it went on sale in the US on June 29.
Didier Lombard, the chairman of Orange, which is an affiliate of the European telecommunications giant France Telecom, raved about iPhone, not only in terms of sales numbers but in the iPhone’s added value to the Orange brand. He said that the introduction of iPhone on November 29 made for brisk Christmas sales and a brilliant finish to 2007 in Orange boutiques. Before the launch, he predicted great success, declaring that the partnership with Apple was “a natural fit” because they were two global brands sharing the same values of simplicity and innovation.
On the other hand, Apple had originally projected sales of iPhone in France to be between 50,000 and 100,000 by the end of 2007, so some cynics point out that Apple has missed its target, since a month into 2008, sales in France have still not hit the giddy high predicted.
However, Orange is sticking to its original target of sales of between 400,000 and 500,000 iPhones in France by the end of 2008.
Four million Apple iPhones have been sold worldwide since its introduction in the US on June 29, 2007, making Apple the third largest seller of smartphones in the world. The same study places Apple fifth in Europe. But with 90,000 iPhones already in the hip pockets of hip French consumers, Apple iPhone is poised to become the latest must-have chic fashion accessory in France, even if sales have as yet not quite reached the ultra-ambitious level Apple originally set.
Outside of France: in Germany, where iPhone launched in early November, Deutsche Telekom recently reported having sold 70,000 in that country. In the UK, where iPhone launched at the same time as Germany, the mobile phone service provider O2 had projected sales of 200,000.
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