Last Update: August 3, 2012 15:03 Fri
Consumer electronics manufacturer Apple Corporation is expected to officially announce its presence in Ghana next week Saturday, in a bid to explore the grey-market in the country.
The Corporation has identified the absence of a reliable warranty, after-sales services and training as areas which they want to explore in order to flood the market with its products.
The entry of Apple into the market is an endorsement on the favourable business climate in the country, and the changing trend in consumer behavior and lifestyle which is being shaped by technology.
The market thus becomes the third country outside South Africa that Apple has decided to enter as part of efforts to expand its frontiers on the continent.
Core Group Africa, which represents Apple in Africa through its accredited reseller shops, is leading the crusade to penetrate the African market.
The Commercial Manager of Core Group Africa, Taryh Hyam said the company has decided to offer to local Apple consumers an enticing package that is expected to induce confidence in the originality and reliability of the products.
“On launch, we decided to design a package specifically for Ghana, and what we have decided to do is to offer a two-year warranty on all Apple products bought in the country.
“What normally happens with Apple products when we launch is to offer customers a one-year warranty. But if one purchases in Ghana through an authorised reseller, he/she gets an extra one-year of warranty.
“We are focused on honouring warranties because in this country that is not often the case. We are going to change that and be at the forefront of changing the perceptions about warranty, allowing customers to have their products fixed or replaced if anything goes wrong with their device,” she said.
Apple products, which are designed for the high-end market, have been sold in the country for decades through unauthorised dealers -- thereby denying unsatisfied customers the right to redress and redeem product warranties.
The presence of accredited Apple products resellers means that consumers can be guaranteed the originality of products they buy, and also have access to product parts and support services as well as to redeem warranties.
Additionally, Apple users in the country will have the chance to create an App Store Account with their Apple IDs, link it to their VISA, MasterCard or AMEX credit/debit cards and purchase applications online.
More so, indigenous software developers can sell their applications in all the many countries that Apple has its stores by adding them to their sales territory lists in the iTunes Connect web application.
The B&FT
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