India with its PLI schemes was able to attract foreign investment in Indian soil and one of big players was Apple.
India has a matter of fact become the de facto location after China with 10% of total production of iPhones.
There is one more list wherein India is topping the chart wrt Apple.
By 2026, India to Become Third Largest Market for iPhones: Counterpoint Research Report
As per analyst, India is all set to emerge as third largest market for iPhones by 2026. India has even surpassed Japan & UK to finish third in the list.
Speaking on the rise of iPhone in “Golden Sparrow”, Varun Mishra, senior analyst, Counterpoint Research said that “There is a significant rise in the premium segment in India. Consumers are ready to spend more on their smartphones and Apple, with its aspirational image and rising footprint has become an obvious choice for premium consumers in India. For Indians, the iPhone is more than a smartphone, it’s a lifestyle statement”.
This rise in India can also be attributed to the fact that markets such as Western Europe, US, Japan are becoming saturated. Hence, future growth of Apple lies in the emerging markets such as India and West Asia and Africa.
When it comes to sales, India currently stands at 5th position, coming after US, China, Japan and the UK. However, as per CounterPoint Research, the ranks are going to shift by 2026 with India surpassing UK as well as Japan.
Citing 2023 to be record year for Apple in India, Varun said that 2023 was the first time when the iPhone shipments crossed the 10 million mark in the country. Notably, this also made Apple a top brand in India in terms of revenue.
He said that “’Made in India’ phones have risen to contribute to 13 per cent of Global iPhone shipments in 2023 compared with 1 per cent in 2018. Owing to these efforts, and the brand affinity of Apple, India is likely to remain one of the fastest-growing markets for Apple in 2024 and 2025. The growth in India will also be key in offsetting some of the decline in China market”.
Shifts in Distribution & Manufacturing Drive Indian Growth
In the month of November last year, CEO of Apple, Tim Cook revealed in an investor’s call how Apple had grown very strongly, in double digits in India.
Though he acknowledged that the market share in India was low, but also he called India as a major focus for the company.
In Apple’s quarterly earnings report in November, he said that “We have a low share in a large market, and so it would seem that there’s a lot of headroom there [in India]”.
A key driver of Apple’s success in India is due to its strategic shift in distribution and manufacturing strategies, such as assembling in the country.
It was in 2019 that Apple changed its distribution strategy.
Amazon and Flipkart became focus for Apple in online space whereas the brands like Croma and Reliance Digital became avenues for expansion for its offline reach.
Further driving the top line was the easy attainability of products backed by financing options like no-cost EMI, further boosting sales.
In nutshell, we can say that an integrated device ecosystem in addition to the growth of Apple’s Services business also added up to the company’s success in the Indian space.
