INDIA: In a recent earnings call, Apple CEO Tim Cook emphasized the importance of India as a critical market for the company’s future growth. Cook mentioned India nearly 20 times during the call, highlighting the country’s potential as both a major market and production base.
Apple’s sales in India marked a new record of nearly $6 billion for the year ending in March, underscoring the growing significance of the Indian market for the tech giant. Cook praised India’s dynamism and vibrancy, saying that the country is at a tipping point with many people entering the middle class.
The Apple CEO’s remarks come after the company opened its first two retail outlets in India last month. The move is part of Apple’s efforts to grow its presence and regional offerings, where rising incomes are boosting consumer spending.
Apple seeks to accelerate growth in India, a country of 1.4 billion, where smartphone sales are plateauing in other parts of the world. The company is also exploring reducing its reliance on China as tensions between Washington and Beijing continue escalating.
While Apple doesn’t break out India revenue in its earnings statements, media portals has reported that the company posted almost $6 billion of sales there in the year through March. Cook’s comments suggest that Apple is doubling down on its efforts to tap into the Indian market and build a strong foothold there.
Apple’s most significant growth segment in the first quarter of this year was its services business, which includes products like iCloud and Apple Pay. The segment grew 5.5% to $20.9 billion, while iPhone sales rose 1.5% to $51.33 billion. Mac sales dropped more than 30% to $7.17 billion, and sales in the wearables business, which have devices like AirPods and the Apple Watch, declined less than 1% to $8.76 billion.
Cook said that the company set a fiscal second-quarter record for iPhone sales and was thrilled by its performance in emerging markets.
“We broke records for the iPhone installed base across all geographies, and ‘new to’ sales in emerging countries, especially in Brazil, India, and Mexico, were solid,” he added.
Apple’s push into India comes as the company faces increasing scrutiny from regulators and lawmakers over its business practices and dominance in the tech industry. Nevertheless, Cook’s comments suggest that Apple is focused on building a solid presence in India and sees the country as a key market for future growth.
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