According to the close sources, asking not to be identified, Apple Inc. is all set to get the clearance to open the first retail store in India as Apple’s CEO Tim Cook look forward to explore the opportunities in a nation of 1.3 Billion people.
The Government of India is planning to push Apple’s application to set up these outlets and the sources suggests that Apple is resubmitting the request as it was not in the right format earlier however no time frame has been given for it’s approval. In order to exempt from the rule of foreign businesses that retail a single brand in India to procure 30 percent of a product’s inputs locally, Apple will have to qualify as a provider of cutting edge technology.
The revenue model of Apple in India would basically come from the cross platform conversions a lot different from the Western countries where the profit share comes from the upgradation of devices. The news of Apple’s stores opening in India has dropped the sales of it’s product resellers like Redington India Ltd. by almost 5 percent since January.
Source: Bloomberg
Apple forms just 2 percent of the smartphone segment in India which is dominated by Samsung Electronics, Micromax and Intex however it ranks 3rd as per the revenue because of its high product prices. Considering the fact that India is the fastest growing economy in the world with about 220 million smartphone users, Tim Cook mentioned last month after Apple’s earning statement that he is very much optimistic about India’s business environment will improve and he is willing to set a good investment here.
So it seems to be a really news for the Apple fans here in India who wait for a month for the devices after they are launched in the International market. Have anything to add to this story? Feel free to use the comment section below.
