“We set all time revenue records in a number of markets including Canada, Indonesia, Mexico, Spain, Turkey and Vietnam along with quarterly records in Brazil and India,” said Cook in Apple’s December quarter earnings call with analysts.
Cook said Apple grew “very strong double digits” in India year-on-year in the last quarter. “So we feel very good about how we performed,” he said despite all the headwinds.
Cook said India is a hugely exciting market for Apple and a major focus including the soon to be launched company-owned iconic retail stores.
“We brought the online store there in 2020. We will soon bring Apple Retail there. We are putting a lot of emphasis on the market. There’s been a lot going from financing options and trade-ins to make products more affordable and give people more options to buy,” said Cook.
On the opportunity in India post-Covid, Tim told analysts that the company “did fairly well” through Covid in the country and he is “even more bullish now, hopefully on the other side of it.”
“That’s the reason why we are investing there by bringing retail there, bringing the online store there and putting out a significant amount of energy there. I’m very bullish on India,” he said.There has been a surge in sales of premium smartphones in India since the pandemic with mass segment consumers postponing purchases due to income constraints during the peak of Covid and record high inflation last year. As per industry executives, Apple has gained a larger share of wallet in the country for this.
As per market tracker Counterpoint Research, premium handsets priced above Rs 30,000 contributed 11% to India’s smartphone shipments and 35% to market revenue in 2022 which is the highest ever.
The researcher said Apple continued to lead the premium smartphone segment last year in India, with the iPhone 13 emerging as the top-selling smartphone model across price segments. Apple rose from the fourth position in 2021 in overall smartphone revenue share in India and captured the second position in 2022. The company has grown 16% year-on-year in 2022, Counterpoint estimates.
Apple also led the market in the December quarter in terms of shipment value, Counterpoint said. “India has become a strategic market for Apple. Increasing make in India capabilities for both local consumption and exports, expanding offline share through large format retail and aggressive promotions during the festive season accelerated Apple’s growth in India,” the researcher said.
