A report says Apple plans to open an Apple Retail Store in the country possibly sometime in 2013. The report says Apple has already registered a company called “Apple Rus”.
The Moscow News, via MacDailyNews:
Gadgets manufacturer and darling of the hipster set, Apple Computers plans to sell its products in Russia without the use of middlemen, bringing the price of its trendy equipment down.
Apple has assigned Vitaly Morozko, the corporation’s local legal adviser, as its director general, Kommersant reported.
Top Apple executives had visited Moscow in Spring 2011, looking for premises for an Apple Store, but failed to find a suitable location.
The report says an unidentified manager of an Apple distributor said the company could start direct sales in Russia in 2013, but that it was unclear when the first store would open.
“Samsung and Sony have been working on direct contracts for a long time. If Apple joins them, the prices will be more affordable and the market more civilized,” said Bely Veter Tsifrovoi director general Danila Vaskevich.
Apple products had been distributed in Russia by a company called “ECS” from 1996 – 2007. The Cupertino company then opened an official branch in Russia that conducted their marketing activities. They signed with their first official computer distributor, diHouse, in 2008.
Apple Rus will most likely concentrate on distribution of products in the Moscow and St. Petersburg retail networks. Other regions will be handled by other distributors.
