India shines in Apple’s global September quarter earnings - Times of India

NEW DELHI: The Indian market is booming for Apple and Tim Cook, the company’s CEO, who made a special mention about the business here at the electronics giant’s global earnings call. Weeks after Apple started sales through its online store, and as its key manufacturing vendors — Foxconn, Wistron and the new-entrant Pegatron — pump in fresh investments, Cook was all praise for the brand’s performance in India as he gave out September quarter financial numbers.
“Geographically, we set September quarter records in the Americas, Europe and rest of Asia-Pacific. We also set a September quarter record in India, thanks in part to a very strong reception to this quarter’s launch of our online store in the country,” Cook said, as the company posted a record September quarter revenue of $64.7 billion. The praise for India came even as Cook said that numbers in China were not that strong due to coronavirus-induced delays in launch of iPhone 12.

With a mix of new models such as the newly-launched iPhone 12 and others like iPhone SE, iPhone 11 and iPhone XR, Apple has been gradually expanding its product portfolio in India. It is also offering attractive finance and buyback schemes in line with the price-sensitive nature of the market.
Even without the new iPhone and during the peak of corona slowdown, the company’s sales in the September quarter were up 37% in India, even as the broader smartphone market was up 9%, according to research firm Counterpoint. Prachir Singh, senior research analyst with the company, said despite premium pricing, Apple remains a highly aspirational brand in the market, which is likely to attract people who are upgrading as average selling price (ASP) goes up.
According to research firm Canalys, the tech giant’s renewed focus on India paid off with a double-digit growth to nearly 8,00,000 units in the region during July-September 2020 quarter.
The government’s production-linked incentive (PLI) scheme for mobile phones is expected to benefit Apple with all its three manufacturing partners — Foxconn, Wistron and Pegatron — making the cut for benefits. As it intensifies local manufacturing, pricing for Apple’s devices is likely to get even more competitive, said analysts.