I. TECHNOLOGY
1 Apple’s India sales near $6 billion as CEO Tim Cook begins retail push
Apple Inc.’s sales in India hit a new high of almost $6 billion in the year through March, highlighting the market’s increasing importance for the iPhone maker as chief executive officer Tim Cook arrived in the country to open its first local stores.
Revenue in India grew by nearly 50 per cent, from $4.1 billion a year earlier, according to a person familiar with the matter, who asked not to be named as the information is not public. Apple posted quarterly earnings on 4th May, 2023 and signaled it expects total global revenue to decline.
Cook inaugurated India’s first Apple store, seeking to accelerate growth in a country of 1.4 billion where the company’s smartphones and computers have never held more than a minuscule market share due to their high cost. With tech demand slowing globally, Apple has identified India’s expanding middle class as an attractive opportunity and it’s also adding local production at an increasing rate.
Apple, which has thus far relied on retail partners and online sales in India launched its online store in the country in 2020 and its sales drive is set for a boost as it opened its first local store in an upscale business district in the financial hub of Mumbai. Two days later, it opened an outlet in the capital, New Delhi.
Apple’s India sales surged during the pandemic as cus
