As three major vendors get clearance to expand operations in India, the country could become a large hub for Apple exports to the world. Local manufacturing also means Apple will surely expand its premium segment market share in the country
Apple’s iPhone 12 advertisements have featured prominently during the ongoing Indian Premier League cricket matches, with the now-familiar annual tagline of the ‘most powerful iPhone ever’. The 5G-ready iPhone 12 as well as the iPhone 12 Mini and iPhone 12 Pro versions became available in the US on October 23, and a fortnight later in India.
Quick availability of the latest products in India, typically within weeks of the launch, has become the norm over the last few years. This is because Apple expanded its operations in the country, reaching stores nation-wide, comprising everything from small electronics shops to large Apple Premium Resellers, supported by national level distributors. Online sales kicked in as well, via Amazon and Walmart-owned Flipkart. Today, Apple has over 40 percent of the ‘premium’ segment of the smartphone market in India—typically phones costing $400 (about Rs 30,000) or more.
What was missing, until recently, was Apple’s own retail stores. And over 20 years after Apple came to India, that was partially rectified when India’s own Apple online store opened for business on September 23. A physical store too should have opened in Mumbai around the same time, “but the Covid-19 pandemic put a spanner in the works,” says an industry executive familiar with Apple’s operations in India.
Shilpi Jain, a research analyst at Counterpoint Research, tells Forbes India that Apple was planning to open its own online as well as offline store in India since last year, but the plan was delayed due to the pandemic. Last year, India relaxed local sourcing rules for single-brand retailers making it easier for companies such as Apple to open their own stores.