Apple To Open Its First Online Store In India This Year

In the last ten years, Apple chiefly made its presence in India through third-party sellers, marketplaces, and stores. But that is no more as this year, it will take matters into its own hands.

On Wednesday, at the shareholder meeting, Tim Cook, Apple’s CEO said that the iPhone maker would have its online store in India, a prominent market for all smartphone vendors, and next year, the first brick-and-mortar offline store would be opened.

Cook said that he had a firm belief in India and he thought the country’s demographics and vibrancy were unparalleled.

Rumors of Apple’s online store in India have been circulating for months. Many credible sources project that the store will be up and running in Q3 this year. However, the iPhone maker would be unable to open an offline store in 2020.

India is now the greatest growth market for Apple and many other American companies that sell premium gadgets. However, infiltrate in this market has proven to be a difficult task for them.

The sheer scale of the market is impressive but the problem is most people in India cannot afford an Apple product. In fact, according to Counterpoint, a research firm, a large number of smartphones purchased in India have a price tag lower than Rs. 10,700.

To add to the high price problem, the Indian government imposed a heavy tax on electronics goods, leaving Apple with no other choice than hike the price even more as the additional cost is passed to the consumers.

What Apple did to secure a larger share on the Indian market is to find ways to reduce their devices’ prices. The iPhone maker has tried to talk to the local government to ask for tax benefits; however, that effort did not yield the result the company wants.

So when talks did not work out, it did what Chinese smartphone vendors have done before it, assembling handsets locally.

The Indian government offers some sweet incentives for any company that assembles their products in India. The plan has been going on for two years now. Wistron and Foxconn, Apple’s partners, are now manufacturing a wide range of products in India, which has helped to reduce the price of a number of iPhone models.

The decision to assemble devices locally has proven to be effective. In 2019’s fourth quarter, 925,000 iPhones were shipped in India, a 200% year-over-year development, making 2019 the best year to date for Apple in the country.

Apple’s aggressive approaches, aiming at price reduction by collaborating with banks to offer more incentives for customers, has secured the company a solid standing in a country where 99% of users use Android.

Meanwhile, the iPhone maker is also trying to bring its services closer to the Indian audience, including TV shows and movies. The approach it took is to partner with content studios to offer India-centric content.

TechCrunch reported last month that Tim Cook would visit India himself for the opening of the online store. However, Apple has commented on nothing on the information nor shared any details on the store.

In 2019, India relaxes the law on single-brand retailers, which makes it easier for firms like Apple to launch its online store first before having a brick-and-mortar one.

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