Apple has been working to expand its presence in India for some time now, but according to a recent report from the Times of India, the company is planning to open a flagship retail location in the country. The report claims that Apple plans to open a store in India similar to its iconic Fifth Avenue location, as well as a handful of smaller stores as it scouts real estate.
After earlier reports claiming that Apple was planning to open a new office of sorts in Hyderabad, India, today the company has confirmed to local publications that it will indeed expand in the area with a new development office planned for later this year. Apple’s statement via a report from The Economic Times is below:
Earlier this year it was revealed that Apple is slowly making its way towards opening its own branded retail stores in India. Apple Stores in India have been a long time coming, but now it looks like they are finally getting close. Bloomberg reports that, after filing the initial paperwork last month, Apple is on track to have its request to be permitted to operate retail stores in India approved.
In the days following Apple’s record Q1 earnings announcements, Apple CEO Tim Cook and other top Apple executives held a Town Hall meeting at the Infinite Loop headquarters in Cupertino to reveal new announcements and take attendee questions.
Multiple sources in attendance at the event said that Cook as well as newly appointed Chief Operating Officer Jeff Williams each spoke and made announcements and teases related to new employee benefits, future iPad growth, Apple Watch sales, future retail stores in China, Apple Campus 2, and the future product pipeline.
Cook also fielded questions from the audience, attempting to reduce concerns related to the company’s iPhone dependence, discussing porting more Apple services to Android, growth in India, and releasing cheaper iPhones to appease growing markets.
According to data from Counterpoint Research, iPhone sales in India are booming. Apple reportedly shipped 800,000 units in the December quarter to the country, up from 500,000 a year ago. Apple has been aggressively promoting their phones with substantial discounts to sustain sales, given high prices for iPhone 6s in India (via Economic Times).
Even with price cuts, that 800,000 number is composed of older iPhone models too. The report indicates that iPhone 5s was responsible for 30% of the sales numbers. About half of the 800k number are made up of iPhone 6s and iPhone 6s Plus.
Apple wanting to expand its presence in India isn’t a new development, but according to a new report from the India Times, the company has recently taken a major step in accomplishing that goal. According to the report, Apple has just filed an application with the Indian government to open its own branded retail stores in the company.
Following Apple’s decision to almost halve the price of the iPhone 5s in India, the Times of India states that the company has followed this by a more modest price-cut for the iPhone 6s/Plus. The move was reportedly made in response to a sales slump.
Apple cut prices of its latest iPhone 6s and iPhone 6s Plus […] just two months after their launch in India to boost flagging sales in what is historically its most crucial quarter as demand for the flagship devices nosedived from a Diwali high […]
The average difference in prices of all iPhone 6s and 6s Plus devices between launch time and now is about 15 per cent …
With Apple’s ambitious expansion program in China well underway, the company now appears to be seeking to boost its market share in the next growth market, India. CNET reports that Apple has almost halved the price of the iPhone 5s from 44,500 Rupees ($665) to 25,000 Rupees ($370).
The price cut appears to be a move by the Californian company to increase its penetration in India, the world’s third largest smartphone market after China and the USA, where the bulk of phones sold are sub-$300. As of quarter 3 of 2015, Apple is not even among the top 5 smartphone vendors in India, a market that IDC Research predicts will overtake the US by 2017.
Although India is a huge market for smartphones, it is currently quite a different market to China, suggesting that Apple needs a significantly different approach …
As expected, Apple Watch is now available for purchase in India. The launch of the device comes a month after Apple made its iPhone 6s and iPhone 6s Plus available in the country. In India, Apple Watch is available from Apple’s official retail channels and starts at Rs 30,900.
[Update 10/27: Apple Pay through American Express in Canada and Australia coming this year; Spain, Singapore, and Hong Kong next year.]
Apple Watch may have first launched all the way back in April, but the roll out in more countries around the world is still taking place. Availability for India now appears to have an official date with Apple’s website confirming a release scheduled for early next month on November 6th.
Details are limited on Apple Watch pricing and retail availability just yet, as only the date has been added to the India listing. The news comes as Apple CEO Tim Cook met with India’s Prime Minister last month, discussing Apple Pay and possibly bringing Apple Stores to the country, which would require manufacturing in the country, where Apple currently relies on resellers for distribution.
While Apple Watch is set to hit even more countries, signs that the Apple Pay could be expanding too have surfaced…
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A week after the devices became available in 42 new countries around the globe, Apple today is making the iPhone 6s and iPhone 6s Plus available in two new countries. As the clock turns to October 16th, Apple’s newest flagship are available in Malaysia and India.
Apple CEO Tim Cook tweeted the above picture of customers purchasing their new iPhone 6s and 6s Plus in India, thanking everyone he waited in line for extended periods of time to be able to obtain them on the first day of availability.
The iPhone 6s and iPhone 6s Plus were also slated to go on sale in Turkey today, but Apple delayed the launch due to the recent terror attack in the country. Apple’s website now advertises an October 23rd launch date in Turkey, although it’s unclear if it will be able to meet that date.
Apple sold more than 13 million iPhones during the opening weekend of availability for the devices. As the iPhone 6s and iPhone 6s Plus continue to become available in more countries Apple can expect its sales to continue to rise. Apple is aiming to make the devices available in more than 130 countries by the end of 2015. Apple has not detailed the next countries that will receive the new iPhones, however.
[tweet https://twitter.com/tim_cook/status/654830645680603136 align=’center’]
Apple looks to further expand its retail presence around the globe with a new partnership according to a report out of the Times of India. The report claims that Apple has inked a deal with the consumer electronics retail chain Croma that will see Croma build new Apple-dedicated retail spaces in six of its retail locations, very similar to how Best Buy does in the United States.
Shortly after Tim Cook met with the Chinese President, Apple’s CEO has met with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, as expected. The Times of India reports that the two of them discussed the possibility of bringing Apple Pay to the country, and Prime Minister Modi invited Apple to set up a manufacturing base in the country.
Cook was said to have “responded positively” to the idea, though nothing more specific was announced. We’ve known for some time that Foxconn has plans to build multiple factories in India, but neither company has confirmed that these would be manufacturing products for Apple. Foxconn carries out contract manufacturing for a number of high-profile brands.
Apple does, however, have one strong incentive to manufacture iPhones in India …
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The Economic Times reports that Apple CEO Tim Cook is to meet Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi later this month.
An Apple spokesperson confirmed that a meeting between its CEO Cook and PM Modi will take place. The Apple spokesperson, however, declined to comment on the topic of discussion.
It’s likely that Cook will want to discuss the possibility of official Apple Stores in the country. India does not permit manufacturer-owned stores unless a certain proportion of components are sourced within the country, forcing Apple to rely on third-party resellers …
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Apple’s plan to establish 500 mobile-focused reseller stores in India is reportedly well underway, with NDTV Gadgets reporting that more than 100 of the partners for its Authorised Mobility Resellers (AMR) program have already been signed-up.
Apple seems to have already identified the cities, and indeed the areas within these cities where it wants to open the new stores, as a job listing on Apple’s website says the responsibility of Program Manager – AMR is to select store locations “within identified micro markets within a city” (emphasis ours).
An Apple-appointed contractor is building the stores’ interiors to ensure that they conform to Apple’s design and size requirements, before handing them back to the third-party resellers to operate. The partners are reportedly being selected by Apple on the basis of their track-record in selling Apple products.
Apple is said to be focusing on building market share in the company, and will, unusually, allow AMRs to discount iPhones below the official retail price.
Apple has added a fifth partner to its list of iPhone distributors in India as it continues its sales push in the country. Optiemus Group will now begin distributing iPhones with a focus on expanding to “neighborhood cellphone stores” in India. Apple is said to be targeting 2 million iPhone sales in the country during its fiscal year 2015…
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According to government officials, iPhone manufacturer Foxconn is planning to open operations including 10-12 factories and data centers by 2020 in India for the first time. Foxconn producing iPhones and iPads in India could result in lower prices on Apple’s hardware in the country where Apple’s hardware is sold at a price higher than many of its competitors.
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Line, best known for its messaging app, has launched its own streaming music service in Japan, ahead of Apple Music’s release. Available on iOS and Android, Line Music offers a two-month free trial, then costs 1,000 yen ($8) per month, with a half-price option offering up to 20 hours per month.
While Line may have beaten Apple to the punch in Japan, it is lagging some way behind on tracks. Although TNW says the company plans to hit 30M tracks by next year, matching Apple, it currently has only around 1.5M – comprising a mix of local and international artists. The service is available only in Japan and Thailand.
A separate report suggests that Apple Music may launch in India at the heavily-discounted price of 120 Indian Rupees – equivalent to just $2/month. Other streaming music services in India charge similar sums, reflecting far lower average incomes in the country.
Times of India is reporting that Apple is expected to have hit $1B in revenue in India in the financial year ended on 31st March – up 42% year-on-year, and a tripling of revenue over the past three years. India is one of the so-called BRIC nations (Brazil, Russia, India, China) where Apple is expecting to see a large chunk of its future growth.
It had previously been reported that Apple sold half a million iPhones in the final calendar quarter of 2014, and Cybermedia Research estimates that it sold 1.3M phones in the full financial year. If true, “over $1B revenue is inevitable,” says the report …
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An Apple reseller in India (photo: indiaprwire.com)
Data from Counterpoint Research, and corroborated by two “leading trade partners,” suggests that Apple sold half a million iPhones in India during the final quarter of 2014, reports the Economic Times. This compares to around a million phones during the whole of 2013.
Apple has also halved the credit period offered to resellers, from the standard 14 days offered by most manufacturers to 7 days, and sliced between 0.5% and 1% offered the 9-11% margins offered on iPhones (rates varying by sales performance). The company is promising to invest the savings in consumer financing offers and marketing, to assist resellers in increasing sales.
Apple operates through a mix of Apple Premium Resellers and Apple Shop sections within other retailers in the country. It was reported in December that its plans to expand its reseller network into smaller towns and cities, adding 500 new dealers.
A new UK job listing posted on Apple’s website and uncovered by iClarified indicates that the company is planning to expands its payment service into Europe and elsewhere. It shouldn’t come as a big surprise that Apple wants to put its iPhone 6-based payment system into as many hands worldwide as possible, but this is one of the first indications of a move in that direction.
The intern will be part of a new London-based team that will help roll the product out across Europe, the Middle East, India, and Asia. Specifically the intern will be responsible for handling contracts and non-disclosure agreements between Apple and third-parties like banks and retailers.
An Apple Premium Reseller store in India
Times of India has put numbers on its earlier claim that Apple was planning to open a collection of iOS-centric stores in India. It now says that Apple plans to support 500 new resellers in the country as part of a major expansion program into smaller towns and cities, where Samsung currently dominates.
Apple reportedly sold a million iPhones in India in the 12 months to September 2014, helped in part by a cheaper 8GB version of the iPhone 5c, and is said to expect sales to treble in the following 12 months following the rollout of the iPhone 6 in October …
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Earlier this week news leaked that Apple would begin offering automated purchasing of mobile ads by advertising agencies through its iAd program when one partner ad company accidentally published a press release early, and today Apple has officially shared the full announcement regarding iAd’s “move into programmatic channels.” In addition to Rubicon Project, Apple shared that it is partnering with various “demand-side platforms (DSPs) and ad tech companies” which include Accordant Media, Adelphic, AdRoll, GET IT Mobile, MediaMath, and The Trade Desk.
Apple has announced that it will be rolling out the iPhone 6 and 6 Plus to an additional 36 countries this month, bringing the total number of markets to 69. The latest rollout will begin with India and Monaco alongside China on Friday.
Apple today announced that iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus, the biggest advancements in iPhone history, will arrive in 36 additional countries and territories across Europe, Asia, the Middle East, Latin America and Africa by the end of October. iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus will be available in a total of 69 countries and territories by the end of the month and are on track to be available in more than 115 countries by the end of the year, making this the fastest iPhone rollout ever …