iPhone 'hot' but retailers not happy

The first customers to own iPhone 17 - Photo: CTV

About 250,000 orders for iPhone 17 versions have been deposited at Apple's authorized retailers in the first time Vietnam has opened early sales with the world .

Price is nearly half of gold but lucky to buy iPhone 17

On the morning of September 19, a series of authorized retailers of Apple in Vietnam simultaneously opened sales and delivered to customers who bought iPhone 17 versions. This is the first time Vietnam has opened sales early along with many other countries in the world (previously it was usually a few weeks later), such as: the US, China, Japan, Singapore.

However, "The early sale also caused demand to skyrocket, while the initial allocation of Apple products was limited, putting great pressure on retailers," Mr. Ly Trung Dung, director of mobile telecommunications and accessories,FPT Shop system, shared with Tuoi Tre.

Therefore, most retailers only deliver a small number of devices to customers who have pre-ordered in the first days of sale. Some retailers, such as The Gioi Di Dong 's TopZone system, also organize lucky draws and only lucky people can buy iPhones on the first day, even though the highest version costs up to nearly 64 million VND (nearly half of the current gold price).

Many users were extremely excited to be one of the first to own the iPhone 17. Mr. Hoang Phuong (HCMC) said: "In recent years, my family has had a tradition of upgrading to the iPhone immediately when it was released. This year, I continued to buy three iPhone 17 Pro Max for the whole family."

Similarly, Mr. Nguyen Hoang Khanh (HCMC) also shared: "Every time Apple launches a new product, I choose to buy at FPT Shop because I always receive the device early. In addition, there are many practical incentives such as subsidies, 0% interest installment payments or lifetime warranty packages, helping me feel secure when using it for a long time"...

Although Apple did not announce the official sales figures of iPhone 17 in the Vietnamese market right after the first day of sale, according to preliminary records of Tuoi Tre , about 250,000 iPhones were ordered by Vietnamese users through AAR retailers - Apple's official authorized dealer. That is not to mention a series of small retail stores selling hand-carried products from abroad, and especially Apple's own online store in the Vietnamese market.

According to statistics from the Mobile World system through the number of customers who pre-ordered, up to 65% of customers chose the iPhone 17 Pro Max out of the four new iPhone lines this year. If counting the iPhone 17 Pro Max alone, the 256GB version was chosen the most. In terms of color, 60% of customers chose cosmic orange.

For other versions, about 20% of customers chose iPhone 17 Pro, of which the cosmic orange version accounted for about 50%; 11% of customers chose iPhone 17, lavender purple was chosen the most - about 37%; and 4% chose iPhone Air, cloud white accounted for 36% of choices...

Competition is increasingly fierce

With the milestone of becoming a pioneer market along with many large countries in the world, "Tet Tao" (as people in the industry call the new iPhone sales season) in Vietnam this year has witnessed many changes.

Firstly, users in Vietnam can own iPhones early, becoming the first owners, without having to hunt for hand-carried goods from abroad.

Second is the strong growth of the Vietnamese market when the demand for iPhone 17 increases 5 times compared to iPhone 16 in 2024. Third is the increasingly fierce competition in retail activities due to strong demand but low supply.

According to Mr. Nguyen Ngoc Dat - Chairman of the Mobile World retail system, the iPhone market this year has many special fluctuations. The fact that Vietnam opened sales at the same time as the global market has made the market extremely vibrant. Vietnamese users are very eager, wanting to buy right from the first days, leading to a huge difference in supply and demand.

"This creates great pressure for retail systems, as many customers do not receive products on time, forcing us to constantly explain and find the best way to serve them," said Mr. Dat.

The gap between supply and demand also makes retailers spend more money to "optimize allocation and deploy many solutions to be able to meet the maximum needs of buyers. Opening sales early requires the system to mobilize maximum human resources, both to ensure fast delivery of devices and to maintain the overall quality of experience - from store images, product experience areas, consulting to after-sales service", said Mr. Ly Trung Dung.

Ms. Anh Hong, e-commerce director of 24hStore system, also said that with a large volume of pre-orders, early delivery, controlling the source of goods, allocating goods between warehouses/branches, ensuring color and capacity... become stressful. Any delay or shortage of goods affects reputation and customer reviews.

Along with that is fierce competition between retailers in 0% installment activities, trade-in support (old - new exchange), payment discounts... "If not carefully controlled, financial costs and marketing costs can "eat" into profit margins. In particular, high-end lines have less output, each small loss also creates a big impact", Ms. Hong commented.

According to Mr. Nguyen Lac Huy - representative of the CellphoneS system, the iPhone retail market in Vietnam can be divided into three levels of retailers: authorized retailers at level T1 (The Gioi Di Dong, FPT Shop, CellphoneS) are allowed to purchase directly from Apple but are bound by strict policies.

Authorized retailers T2 (Di Dong Viet, Minh Tuan Mobile...) buy goods from distributors and finally unauthorized retailers have to buy goods from the secondary market, hand-carried goods... Each level of retailer has different advantages, difficulties and has its own business strategy options.

"It can be said that the iPhone retail market is very diverse. The competition to sell iPhones is very fierce, unlike other phone brands that mostly focus on price and promotions during the opening sale period," Mr. Huy commented.

Corporate profits are getting thinner and thinner

According to Mr. Nguyen Ngoc Dat, competition between chains is also increasingly fierce. Everyone wants to bring more incentives and practical values to customers. However, this makes the retail industry's profit margin increasingly thin, only about 1 - 2%.

Mr. Ly Trung Dung also said that the demand for iPhone in Vietnam has been growing at double digits every year, and the market is becoming more and more vibrant with more retailers, distribution channels, and even Apple's direct participation through online channels. This creates a competitive environment not only in terms of price but also in terms of service quality.

"Customers therefore benefit from more choices, and also have higher demands on after-sales service, returns, and quick installment payment services," said Mr. Dung.

Vietnamese people spend more than 12,000 billion VND to buy iPhone 17

The selling price of the 256GB iPhone 17 Pro Max version is approximately 38 million VND, while the highest capacity 2TB is nearly 64 million VND. The selling price of the lowest iPhone 17 Pro version is nearly 35 million VND and the highest is nearly 48 million VND.

According to statistics, 85% of products chosen by Vietnamese users are from iPhone 17 Pro and above. If the price of this version is taken as an average, with 250,000 products ordered, the total amount of money Vietnamese people spend to buy iPhone 17 is about 8,750 - 12,000 billion VND.

If you add in the portable stores and Apple online stores, the actual number is certainly much larger.

Tuoitre.vn

Source: https://tuoitre.vn/iphone-hot-nhung-nha-ban-le-khong-vui-20250921215919497.htm#content