What you need to know
- Russia's premium Apple reseller re:Store closed its stores temporarily yesterday.
- They have now reopened and prices have increased.
- Apple has stopped selling products in the country due to the ongoing war in Ukraine.
Just a day after closing stores temporarily, Russia's premium Apple reseller re:Store has reopened stores and raised prices.
As reported by state-owned news agency RIA Novosti:
Apple re:Store stores have reopened in Moscow, the entire model range of the iPhone 13 is available, RIA Novosti correspondent reports.
It seems from re:Store's website that the reseller has significantly increased the price of its products as a result of sanctions and ongoing economic pressure in the country.
According to iMore research, the iPhone 13 Pro Max 128GB was listed for pre-order on February 9 at a pre-order price of 109,990 rubles. This is roughly $940 at the current exchange rate, however, at the time of listing according to historical exchange data, this would have been around $1,470. The same model listed as of March 3 is now priced at 149,990 rubles, about $1,277 at the current exchange rate but $2,005 at the previous rate.
The best iPhone on offer, the iPhone 13 Pro Max 1TB, was previously listed on February 9 at 159,990 rubles, only slightly more than the 128GB model now costs. Reflecting the extreme economic impact of sanctions on the country, at the time this was $2,139 but is now only worth $1,362. The same model is now listed for pre-order at 239,990, over $2,043 at the current exchange rate but a staggering $3,208 at the rate on February 9. In real terms, a customer on February 9 trying to buy a 1TB iPhone 13 Pro Max at re:Store could today only purchase a 128GB model with the same amount of money, a 50% increase.
Another such example is the MacBook Air with M1. On February 19, re:Store was offering the 8GB variant with 256GB of storage for 99,990 rubles ($1,315 at the time, now $850). The same model is now listed at 149,990, the same price and difference as the aforementioned iPhone 13 Pro Max, a 50% increase in real-terms pricing for customers.
Apple has made the decision to stop selling its products in Russia, and earlier this week it was reported that other resellers are battling similar skyrocketing prices. The volatile economic situation is likely to continue, as the ruble hit a record low overnight and fell by another 18% against the US dollar in early trading Thursday:
BREAKING: Russia's ruble falls by 18% against the US Dollar in today's trading so far, down to 117 per Dollar.BREAKING: Russia's ruble falls by 18% against the US Dollar in today's trading so far, down to 117 per Dollar.— The Spectator Index (@spectatorindex) March 3, 2022March 3, 2022
