Apple Inc.’s sales in India hit a new high of almost $6 billion in the year through March, highlighting the market’s increasing importance for the iPhone maker as Chief Executive Officer Tim Cook arrives in the country to open its first local stores.
Cook is set to inaugurate India’s first Apple stores this week, seeking to accelerate growth in a country of 1.4 billion where the company’s smartphones and computers have never held more than a minuscule market share due to their high cost. With tech demand slowing globally, Apple has identified India’s expanding middle class as an attractive opportunity and it’s also adding local production at an increasing rate.
Apple’s India sales surged during the pandemic as customers bought iPhones, iPads and MacBooks to work and study from home. And that momentum has continued, helped by financing and trade-in options.
Yet its base is small — just about 4% of India’s nearly 700 million smartphone users have iPhones — as the world’s second-biggest mobile market is led by cheaper local brands as well as Chinese and South Korean manufacturers. But the Cupertino, California-based company ranked No. 1 in unit sales of devices above $365 last year, according to researcher Counterpoint.
The company doesn’t break out India revenue in its earnings statements, but it is required to report annual sales in the country to local authorities. For the year through March 2022, it posted sales of 333.8 billion rupees ($4.1 billion).
Cook’s India push also means braving risks such as India’s notoriously high import duties for everything from components to finished products, which affect retail prices and demand. The country is also known for sudden shifts in rules and regulations, which can expose companies to unexpected costs. Yet the market’s growth potential makes it difficult to ignore.
“India is a hugely exciting market for us and is a major focus,” Cook said during an earnings call in February. “We’re putting a lot of emphasis on the market.”