• iPhone maker sells its products in India through third-party vendors and e-commerce firms such as Amazon and Walmart-owned Flipkart.
• Apple has plans to open one store each in Mumbai and Bengaluru next month.
• Apple dominates India’s premium smartphone segment with a 49 per cent market share in the second quarter.

Bengaluru:  The world’s third-largest smartphone manufacturer and the most valuable company – Apple – is set to open an online store in India next month.

The iPhone maker sells its products in the country through third-party vendors and e-commerce firms such as Amazon and Walmart-owned Flipkart.

Apple’s Chief Executive Officer Tim Cook had said earlier this year that Apple would open its first Indian retail store in 2021 but the company is preparing for the festive season – Diwali – in September.

The Cupertino, California-based company also plans to open a second bricks-and-mortar store in the technology hub of Bangalore, following an outlet in Mumbai that will be its first physical location in the country, according to a Bloomberg source.

Apple sees India as huge growth prospects for smartphone makers, as well as cheap labour to manufacture the devices.

Apple, which lobbied New Delhi for years to get around regulations that force foreign companies to source 30 per cent of components locally, had originally planned to start online sales within months after the government relaxed the rule last year but the plans were disrupted by the coronavirus pandemic.

Selling through its own stores and via its website could help Apple control branding and win customer loyalty, while levelling the field with competitors like China’s OnePlus and South Korea’s Samsung Electronics.

Expanding retail footprint

Apple has expanded its retail footprint to 510 stores spanning 25 countries and regions, including 271 in the US and 239 combined in Australia, Austria, Belgium, Brazil, Canada, China, France, Germany, Hong Kong, Italy, Japan, Macao, Mexico, the Netherlands, Singapore, South Korea, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Taiwan, Thailand, Turkey, the UAE, and the UK. Apple is also rumored to expand its retail presence to India, Argentina, Chile, and Peru in the future.

The US company is expanding as it gears up for the launch of iPhone12 models in October.

In Singapore, Apple is set to open its third outlet and it will be the world’s first floating retail store at Marina Bay Sands.

Alongside the expansion of its retail presence in India, Apple has been assembling its newest handsets – the iPhone SE and the iPhone 11 – in the country through its manufacturing partners Foxconn Technology Group and Wistron Corp. Another assembly partner, Pegatron Corp, will set up its first plant in India.

Apple dominated India’s premium smartphone segment with a market share of 49 per cent during the second quarter, according to research firm IDC. The newer iPhone 11 and the iPhone XR together comprised 28 per cent of high-end shipments, indicating that demand for pricier iPhones is growing. That is in contrast to a couple of years ago, when cheaper and old models accounted for a big chunk of iPhone sales in that market.