[NEW DELHI] Apple’s annual sales in India hit a record of nearly US$9 billion in the last fiscal year, signalling growing consumer demand for its flagship devices as the company ramps up its retail footprint in the world’s most populous country.
Revenue rose about 13 per cent in the 12 months through March from US$8 billion a year earlier, according to a person familiar with the matter, who declined to be named as the information is private. Apple’s marquee iPhones accounted for a majority of the sales, and demand for MacBook computers also surged.
The outsized jump – which has not been previously reported – is a boost for the Cupertino, California-based company at a time it’s grappling with plateauing mobile device sales around the world. While India represents still a fraction of its overall business, the company is investing in a country it expects to become a key market in coming years.
That’s particularly important given volatile consumption in and geopolitical uncertainty around China, today its largest overseas base. Revenue from China gained 4.4 per cent in the June quarter – but that was only its first rise in two years, and it’s lost market share there to local rivals like Xiaomi.
Apple did not respond to requests for comment.
As part of its retail push in India, Apple just added two new stores in the cities of Bangalore and Pune this week. It’s also is planning to launch a new outlet in Noida, on the outskirts of Delhi, and another in Mumbai early next year.
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The US company in 2023 reshuffled management of its international businesses, making India its own sales region due to the growth potential the market offers with its rising incomes and a burgeoning middle class. IPhones, viewed by many Indians as a status symbol, currently account for about 7 per cent of the local smartphone market, according to Tarun Pathak of Counterpoint Research.
India’s local sourcing requirements prevented Apple from opening its iconic stores in the South Asian nation for years. As the policy eased, Apple finally launched its online store in India in 2020.
Apple’s chief executive officer Tim Cook then inaugurated the first two stores in India, respectively located in the financial hub of Mumbai and capital New Delhi, in 2023. The company has since boosted its retail network in the country and added more premium resellers.
High taxes make iPhones pricey in India – Apple sells the entry-level iPhone 16 model at 79,900 rupees (S$1165) in India, compared with the US$799 price tag in the US.
The company has been trying to work around that by offering student discounts, trade-ins on older devices, and by partnering with banks for credit card rebates, and the measures have boosted sales. Cook has consistently said India’s among the company’s fastest-growing markets.
India has also become key to Apple’s manufacturing strategy. One in every five iPhones is now made in India, and Cook plans to use the country as the major source of US-bound devices.
Apple is expanding iPhone production in India at five factories, including a pair of recently opened plants, as it seeks to lessen its reliance on China, Bloomberg News reported previously. BLOOMBERG
