Flipkart CEO Binny Bansal becomes ‘delivery boy’ for Apple iPhone 7

Much-awaited Apple iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus are launching in India today. The sales of the smartphones will start at 7 PM today across the country. And there’s a celebrity ‘delivery boy’ for the new iPhones. Flipkart CEO Binny Bansal will show up at the doorsteps of some customers, personally delivering the latest iPhones. Bansal will be delivering the all-new iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus smartphones starting at 7 PM in Bangalore today.
In a statement, the Bengaluru-based e-tailer said that it is readying to make deliveries right at customers’ doorsteps from 7 PM onwards. “Ekart, Flipkart’s supply chain arm has readied a full force of delivery executives to make sure its customers get hold of their phones right from 7 PM today. Delivery executives are fanning out across key cities in India to surprise several lucky customers at the exact time when the clock strikes seven,” added the company in the statement.
Late last month, Apple tied up with the country’s top e-tailer to sell the two new smartphones. Flipkart will source iPhone 7 directly from Apple, unlike previous years when it would source the phones from third-party sellers. This is the first time that Apple has partnered with Flipkart.
Flipkart, which has the largest e-tail market share in India, generates a major chunk of its revenues from sales of smartphones. Multiple smartphone brands, including Motorola and LeEco, sell exclusively on Flipkart.
The iPhone 7 deal should give Flipkart a leg up, at a time when it is facing stiff competition from American rival Amazon which has been investing heavily in the Indian market.
For Apple, India has become a key market. This was reflected in Apple CEO Tim Cook’s recent visit to India and his meetings with government officials. The company doesn’t sell its products directly in India. Instead, Apple depends on third-party retailers and distributors to sell its devices in the country.
The 32 GB, 128 GB and 256 GB variants of the iPhone 7 are priced at Rs 60,000, Rs 70,000 and Rs 80,000 respectively in India. The bigger-screen iPhone 7 Plus models are priced at Rs 72,000 for 32 GB, Rs 82,000 for 128 GB and Rs 92,0