Tim Cook, the CEO of Apple, has stated that the country is a “hugely interesting market” for the company and that he is “quite positive about India.” Cook said that Apple is placing “a lot of emphasis” on the Indian market, where it also set a quarterly revenue record, during a conference call with investors following the company’s first quarter results.
The company’s first quarter data revealed an unexpected decline from the previous year, falling 5% to $117.2 billion. The dismal results, according to Cook, were caused by three things: “foreign exchange headwinds,” “Covid-19 related issues,” and the “tough macroeconomic climate.” If not for the almost 800 basis point impact on foreign exchange, he claimed that Apple would have increased in most areas.
Cook stated that Apple “feels very pleased” about how it did in India, where it had a record-breaking quarter in terms of revenue and experienced double-digit year-over-year growth. Cook claimed, “We actually performed quite well with Covid in India.
According to Apple, a record number of Indian users switched from Android and other operating systems to iOS. In terms of shipping value in Q4 2022, Apple led the country’s smartphone industry and is currently the market leader in India for luxury smartphones (those costing more than Rs 30,000).
“I’m even more bullish now on the other side of it. And that’s the reason why we’re investing there. We’re bringing retail there and bringing the online store there and putting a significant amount of energy there. I’m very bullish on India,” he added.
In order to expand its options from China, which is now its largest manufacturing base, Cook’s remarks come at a time when it is believed that Apple is looking at India as a prospective location for device manufacturing.
The Cupertino tech company has apparently begun producing the iPhone 14 in India and is considering producing other goods there as well, such its Airpods wireless headphones. Apple exported iPhones valued at more than $2.5 billion from India between April and December 2022, more than it exported for the entire fiscal year 2021–2022 (FY22), underscoring the company’s quick transition in production away from China.
The corporation is also working to come up with financing options and trade-ins to lower the cost of its goods in India in order to further enhance the penetration of iPhone and other Apple devices in the nation.
“India is a hugely exciting market for us and is a major focus. We brought the online store there in 2020. We will soon bring Apple retail there. So we’re putting a lot of emphasis on the market. There’s been a lot done from financing options and trade-ins to make products more affordable and give people more options to buy. And so there’s a lot going on there,” Cook said.
