How Apple’s India gamble paid off

🌈 Abstract

The article discusses Apple's push into the Indian market, including the opening of its first flagship stores in India and the resulting growth in Apple's sales in the country.

🙋 Q&A

[01] Apple's Expansion in India

1. What are the key points about Apple's expansion in India?

• Apple opened its first flagship stores in India in 2022, starting with Mumbai and then a smaller store in Delhi
• This marked a real push by Apple to sell the iPhone to India's growing middle class
• Apple also made efforts to manufacture more iPhones in India, with mixed success
• Apple's total annual sales in India jumped by 33% to nearly $8 billion in the past year
• India represents just 2% of Apple's overall sales, but it is a major market with plenty of room for growth

2. What were the initial challenges for Apple in the Indian market?

• The iPhone is seen as a luxury item in much of India, with an iPhone 15 costing nearly three times the country's median monthly wage
• For years, the conventional wisdom was for Apple to launch a new, lower-cost model to crack the Indian market, which Apple has long resisted

3. How did the opening of Apple's flagship stores impact the company's performance in India?

• The opening of the flagship stores had a significant "halo effect", generating excitement and driving sales through partner shops and e-commerce platforms
• The stores provided a focal point for hype-heavy product launches, which helped drive excitement and sales
• While the flagship stores only account for a small portion of Apple's sales in India, their impact on the overall brand and sales has been significant

[02] Apple's Strengths and Challenges

1. What are the key strengths that have contributed to Apple's success in India?

• Apple's ability to generate excitement and a "reality distortion field" around its products and launches
• The power of the Apple brand and its ability to win over customers, even for premium-priced products

2. What challenges has Apple faced in expanding into new markets beyond its core iPhone business?

• Tepid sales of the Vision Pro headset suggest that Apple's expansion into new markets is not a guarantee of success
• As Apple stretches into areas like headsets and video streaming, there are questions about whether the company has overextended itself and moved away from its core strength in the iPhone

3. How does Apple's push into India serve as a test of the company's continued ability to win over customers?

• Apple's success in India can be seen as a test of whether the company still has the power to win people over to the iPhone
• Even skeptics have had to admit that Apple is passing this test with "flying colors" so far, based on the strong growth in sales in India.