It has raised the sales target of the franchisee-owned exclusive retail stores in India by up to 100% and started offering discounts at its two company-owned brick-andmortar and the online store in India, three industry executives said. These strategies indicate the iPhone company is seeking doubledigit revenue growth in India, they said.
Apple has rolled out a ‘student’ offer in its company-owned stores which includes a discount and freebies on Mac computer and iPad tablets whereby the total deal value is steeper than what is available in the franchise-based Apple Premium Reseller stores, the executives said.
The company that had increased the sales target for its Premium Reseller stores in the last has done so in the current quarter as well. For some, it is almost doubled on a year-on-year basis. There are 200-plus such stores in the country.
An email sent to Apple India remained unanswered till Wednesday press time.
Industry tracker Counterpoint Research said Apple is on target to sell around 9 million iPhones in India this calendar year as compared to 6 million in 2022, despite the smartphone market declining at a record pace. Apple’s revenue grew 16% year-on-year in India in 2022.
Counterpoint’s director of research Tarun Pathak said the premium (rs 30,000-plus) smartphone market – where Apple operates – is growing while the slowdown in sales is largely in the sub-Rs 10,000 segment. The premium segment has doubled to 16% of the overall market by volume in the last 2-3 years, whereas by value, it is now half of the market, he said.
“Apple wants to go aggressive in the run up to the festive season.
For the company, its stores, online sites and exclusive outlets are critical channels – to build the end-consumer experience and roping them into the entire ecosystem,” said Pathak.
Apple is now the largest brand in the premium smartphone segment, followed by Samsung.
According to an industry executive, some of the premium resellers recently had a meeting with the Apple team and they suggested ways to increase sales.
