Back in 2007 when Apple launched its first Iphone , world was

revolutionized in a sense that no other products can match its quality

and technology. Since then Apple has continued its legacy of launching
sophisticated and innovative product. A New Delhi based entrepreneur
had grown his business many folds after using MacBook Air with entire
product line. He was so much satisfied with the performance of the
device he is ready to pay premium amount for the newer version
whenever it is launched.
During Covid-19, pandemic forced people to work and study from home
in virtual platform which raise the demand of the iphones, Macbook
and ipads. Apple India has achieved record breaking sales in current
operation year where it achieve the sales of Rs.22,845 crore in FY21
with net profit of Rs.1226 crore. Apple stellar performance of higher
sales volume in India even though Indian market is highly competitive
and price sensitive Smartphone market. Apple sold 3.2 million iphones
in 2020.
Apple performed well for its PC and tablet segment due to robust
demand which helps in breaking into top 5 company during Jan-Sep
2021. Apple control sizeable market share which is whooping 29%.
Driven by unprecedented consumer demand due to work from home ,
learn from home.
Factors that have helped Apple in India:
1. New strategy was to start assembling and manufacturing iphones
locally to accustomed with Make in India programme.
2. Start expanding its retail presence by opening its flagship Apple
branded online and physical stores.
3. Gain market share by lowering prices, either by local manufacturing
or sacrificing margins.
Streamlining prices and improving product availability outside metro
cities were important strategies.
In 2016, Apple began rolling out Made in India phones, the attractive
priced iphone SE model were locally made phones. Apple reduced the
price by 22 % by assembling locally in Bangalore by Wistron. As a result,
Apple slashed price on the base model of iphone 12 by Rs.14,000 to
Rs.66,000. Soon, contract manufacturers such as Foxconn has opened
its plant in Chennai. Foxconn has started trail production of iphone 13
in Chennai to be rolled out in March 2022. Apple is trying to reduce this
launch to production gap in India for iphone 13.
In the past 5 years, operations have been expanded into multiple
directions like growing local sourcing, retail reach and Apple online
store. Three of its global contract manufacturers-Foxconn, Wistron and
Pegatron have invested heavily in building their manufacturing plants
using production linked incentive(PLI) scheme to boost the local
manufacturing.
How Apple's appeal and positioning have worked for it:
As the average selling price of a smartphone surging to an all time high
of Rs.20,000, a large section of Android users are closer to the lowest
priced iphone that usually cost around Rs.30,000. In a market where
160 million Smartphones are sold yearly, Apple has an unprecedented
opportunity to capture the evolving Indian consumer market. Macbook
price are slashed to boost its sales.
Riding the appeal of brand Apple:
A vast majority of college graduate aspire to own Apple devices
because of its brand value and popularity as a premium product. Apple
which is gaining traction in enterprises segment which help in bulk
sales, enterprises also helps in raising service revenue. Once you can
convince the enterprises that software and hardware can work
seamlessly, it is a great business opportunity for Apple.
Understanding Apple's success strategy:
Besides manufacturing and pricing, Distribution channel should also be
controlled. From few hundred stores, Apple products are now available
in 10,000 outlets run by premium sellers or dealer-cum-distributors
such as Unicorn, Redington and Ingram Micro. It also has a tie up with
Reliance. This retail presence is necessary since its rivals were also
expanding their physical base. Chinese brands like OPPO, VIVO , Xiaomi
and lenevo entered India in 2014 with an online presence but now they
have 15,000 owned and partner stores. Both th pace of expansion and
sales growth have accelerated in last two years and despite the
pandemic demand for Apple devices have jumped 50% in FY21.
Apple stellar performance has convinced distributor like Unicorn to
open stores in small towns like Palghar (Maharastra) and grow more
outlets in bigger cities like Lucknow. In line with the traditional Apple
store, Unicorn unveiled 3,000 sq-ft showrooms in Delhi that cost 150 %
more than a standard 1000 sq-ft store. Redington, one of the largest
distributors of Apple products in India has contributed 38% of overall
revenue.
iPAD drives growth:
Apple is focusing on bringing its go-to-market route by inaugurating
exclusive Apple store in Mumbai, Delhi and Bengaluru this year. Apple
also launched its India online store in Sep,2020. Apple gets over 20% of
its revenue through online sales through partnership with e-commerce
majors such as Amazon and Flipkart. Strong product sales will help
Apple in generating its service sales which is cash cow for the company.
While service accounts for 22 % of its global revenue, in India its share
is insignificant. But growing customer demand for OTT platform will
help in offering Apple Music and Apple TV+ at Rs.99/month. Apple
ecosystem is well established which will lead to increase in product
sales and services. Apple app centre in Hyderabad which starts its
operation in 2016, today it employees 5000 people. The company apps
accelerator programme in Bengaluru makes India one of the very
countries that have a developer academy. Apple has made apps for
Maruti Suzuki, Hero cycles for managing their inventory, sales and
customer interface. The next focus is to cash in on the e-learning
sector in India. There are exciting opportunity for training its emerging
workforce in the field of smart manufacturing, intelligent design,
connected and optimized systems.
From being a fringe player in the country's electronic market, Apple has
now finally entered into the business in India. The various pieces of its
India strategy are capturing the various dimensions of Indian customer
centric product but also interlocking seamlessly. If this continues, A $3-
trillion market capitalization will be only one of the few records under
Apple's kit.