A Point Person is a single point of contact between a company and an area of interest. Depending on the company, the responsibilities of this person can range from exercising complete control to merely acting as a spokesperson.
The reason I’m forcing this business lesson upon you is that Apple has just appointed a point person for India. Khushboo Ponwar, formerly Market Development Lead for App Store, Apple Music, and iTunes, has been offered this high profile role.
Formerly, Ponwar’s role extended to the markets in Middle-East, Turkey, Africa as well as India. However, she has now been asked to focus solely on India.
A big step in the right direction
This is a big step for Apple towards their goal of making India their prime market. The numbers tell the real story of how very important we are to them. Last year, when the iPhone saw the first global decline in sales since its initial launch in 2007, India was the only country that reported an increase. And not just by a percent point or two, mind you, but by a whopping 56%.
During the same period, Apple lost more ground in one of their best-performing markets — China – by slipping down to 5th place. Now, they hold just a little over 10% of the smartphone market in China. Although the country still manages a podium finish in the net number of devices sold, this trend of losing market is quite worrisome for Apple.
The rise of new competition
It’s not just China, new competitors are threatening Apple in all emerging markets as well. Low-cost, high-performance phones from Oppo, OnePlus, and Xiaomi have flooded the markets, taking away a huge chunk of mid-range smartphone users from Apple. From being a market leader, Apple is now resorting to playing catch-up to stay with the competition.
The problem with emerging markets
The company’s premium brand image is not of much help either when it comes to pulling sales. The newer markets Apple is trying to make headway in, such as India, are all highly price-sensitive. The iPhone is more of a style statement than a power-packed fully functional phone. New Chinese phones and local Indian brands are constantly undercutting Apple in price, while offering handsets that have a host of features in them.
Apple has now reached a situation where it is bordering on desperation and is one wrong step away from panic.
So appointing Ponwar as the point person for India is a strategic move for them. They want to make certain that they don’t miss their shot in India. And if they do, they want to have a scapegoat they can pull up and ask, “What the hell happened?”
It’s a position of great power, but also of great responsibility. And I hope, for her sake more than anything else, that Ponwar doesn’t screw this up.
Source: ET
