Is the iPad losing the Russian market?

The share of the iPad in the Russian tablet market has significantly decreased: from 51% last year to 32% this year,” the official report of the Svyaznoy retail chain says. 

About the same figures are stated in the SmartMarketing report. According to their data, the share of iPads among tablets sold in the first half of 2012 is 38% compared to last year’s 54%. So, according to official data, despite the constant growth in sales of the “apple” tablet, it is gradually losing the market to devices from other manufacturers. According to Svyaznoy, the share of Samsung tablets in the Russian market is 19%, Acer – 10%, and domestic Prestigio – 6%.

However, neither Svyaznoy’s data nor SmartMarketing’s data take into account sales in the “gray” market. In turn, Russia, along with Canada, is the main importer of “gray” Apple devices. In other words, after the release of the next gadget in the USA, he goes, albeit unofficially, first of all, to us.

And although it is difficult to say now which part of sales in Russia falls on “gray” iPads, which on “white”, most of these devices are sold through unofficial channels. There are two reasons: the high price of legal retailers and the long waiting time for official deliveries (up to several months). For this reason, it is not entirely true to say that the iPad is losing the Russian market. 

P.S. Have you ever heard of Prestigio?