During the company’s results call on Friday, Cook discussed Apple’s performance in India and expressed his extreme satisfaction with the Indian market.
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Apple collected record revenue in India for the quarter ending in March 2024. Despite an overall 4% fall in revenue, which CEO Tim Cook attributed to a 10% decline in iPhone sales compared to the same period last year.
Apple has also achieved record-breaking sales in other regions, such as West Asia, Latin America, Canada, and Turkey.
Cook also discussed Apple’s initiatives to strengthen its developer community and distribution networks in India. He observed the swift expansion of developers within the nation and underscored Apple’s complete strategy that includes development, marketing, and operations.
“We did grow strong by double-digit, and so we were very, very pleased with that. It was a new March quarter revenue record for us. As you know, as I’ve said before, I see it as an incredibly exciting market and it’s a major focus for us.”
Tim Cook, CEO Apple.
“The fact that India is home to a continually expanding pool of developers has thrilled us greatly” he said. According to him, Apple is operating every aspect of the ecosystem, including operations, markets, and developers. He went on to say that he was thrilled and content about it.
Cook also emphasised how crucial it is for Apple to continue making iPhones in India in order to be competitive, and he connected the company’s success in the Indian market to its attempts to expand its operations.
Practically speaking, one must produce in order to be competitive, and it seems the two are related from that perspective; however, operational activities, market initiatives, and other things are ongoing the executive said.
Apple stated in 2023 that it supports more than a million developer jobs in India and is seeking to grow even more.
According to Apple’s chief financial officer, Luca Maestri, the business has broken records for revenue in emerging regions, including India, in the last six months.
“We are happy that there is a lot of passion for the brand in these markets, which have a huge and growing population, a low market share for us, and significant growth in sales of our items.” Luca Maestri.
The most valuable corporation in the world is seeing exceptional success with its newer iPhone models as the Indian market shifts towards premiumization. Apple is taking advantage of this trend by making use of the increasing number of smartphone users who want to upgrade for the third or fourth time to a more aspirational premium phone.
Over the past few years, Apple has greatly boosted the production of iPhones in India. The company has also opened retail locations in Mumbai (Apple BKC) followed by New Delhi (Apple Saket).
Apple’s iPhone production in India: Tim Cook
According to Tim Cook, Apple produces iPhones in India in order to maintain its competitiveness, and the company’s expansion in the Indian market is correlated with its operational growth.
Practically speaking, one must produce in order to be competitive, so sure, the two are related from that perspective; nevertheless, he added, there are ongoing operational issues in addition to market-driven initiatives.
Apple item sales in the March quarter.
Mac sales increased 4% to $7.45 billion, although they are still below the 2022 high point for the category. According to Cook, the company’s new MacBook Air models, which were introduced in March with an improved M3 chip, were the main driver of sales, as reported by CNBC.
Apple claims that sales of its AirPods headphones and Apple Watch decreased by 10% annually to $7.9 billion in “Other Products.”
The Vision Pro virtual reality headset, Apple’s first major product launch in years, was presented during the quarter. But sales volumes for the $3,500 gadget are expected to be rather low, especially in comparison to Apple’s core product lineup.
