“Apple Inc. is broadening its attack on India, perhaps the iPhone’s last great growth market,” Newley Purnell, Rajesh Roy, and Tripp Mickle report for The Wall Street Journal. “The company’s first ever Indian-made iPhones began hitting shelves here this month with hopes that reduced prices will boost sales in the sprawling country where Apple has just 3% market share.”
“The Cupertino, Calif. company is considering plans to open flagship stores in India’s megacities and is assisting hundreds of third-party resellers in opening new shops at an unprecedented pace,” Purnell, Roy, and Mickle report. “It also has set up development centers to build apps for Indians and enhance local mapping capabilities.”
Apple “must overcome weak brand awareness and its relatively late arrival in a market where Samsung Electronics Co. has a head start,” Purnell, Roy, and Mickle report. “‘It’s not a push for premium—it’s a push to sell an Apple device by any means necessary,’ said Lauren Guenveur, an analyst with market research firm Kantar Worldpanel.”
“Under investment restrictions, foreign-owned single-brand retailers like Apple were required to source around 30% of their products locally in order to open their own shops,” Purnell, Roy, and Mickle report. “Apple was rejected when it pushed for that restriction to be waived. New Delhi later said companies could be given three years to reach the requirement, according to government officials. Apple was also refused permission to import used iPhones to be refurbished and sold in India, said one Trade Ministry official who asked not to be named.”
Read more in the full article here.
MacDailyNews Take: India should allow Apple to sell Apple Certified Refurbished iPhones, iPads, and other Apple products:
The “Make in India” program is supposed to focus on creating skilled jobs and minimizing environmental impact. Blocking Apple from selling Apple Certified Refurbished iPhones and forcing the company to set up factories full of entry-level assembly jobs in order to open brand new retail stores accomplishes neither objective.
Indians can’t have nice, clean stores or real iPhones are great prices (Apple Certified Refurbished iPhones are better than new fragmandroid phones) because your government is “protecting” you against such things in favor of importing pollution and crap, menial, unskilled, low-paying jobs. So, don your face masks like the Chinese to ward off the smog (not that iPhone assembly is particularly polluting, but the requirement forcing 30% of manufacturing into the country will lead to pollution from other industries) and have fun with your insecure, never-to-be-updated fake iPhones!
Or, some portion of the 1.3 billion Indian citizens could demand that the handful of government dullards blocking Apple reconsider their trade ideas. — MacDailyNews, May 26, 2016
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India should approve Apple’s plan to sell Apple Certified refurbished iPhones in India. Not only would they be affordable to more consumers in India, Apple’s refurb’ed iPhones are easily better than competitors’ new phones! Why keep the Indian people shackled to inferior iPhone knockoffs when they could have the real thing? – MacDailyNews, May 25, 2016
SEE ALSO:
Apple is making old iPhones new again to win India – June 12, 201
Apple again asks Indian government to allow sale of certified refurbished iPhones in India – February 6, 2017
Indian IT minister says Apple plans to make iPhones in Bengaluru – February 3, 2017
Apple nears deal to manufacture products in India – January 25, 2017
Apple is ready to make iPhones in India, for a price – January 20, 2017
India to consider Apple request for tax breaks and policy exemptions with ‘open mind’ – January 18, 2017
Apple is horse-trading mightily with India – January 4, 2017
India poised to reject manufacturing concessions for Apple – January 3, 2017
Apple doesn’t want India’s government to muddle iPhone’s look – December 29, 2016
Apple is discussing manufacturing in India, government officials say – December 20, 2016
Apple iPhone grabs first place in India with 66% of premium smartphone sales – November 29, 2016
Apple seeks government incentives to set up manufacturing unit in India – November 7, 2016
iPhone 7 and 7 Plus launch in India: Apple’s latest flagship gets record-breaking response – October 8, 2016
Reports of Apple’s death in India are greatly exaggerated – August 5, 2016
India clears path for first Apple Retail Store – July 21, 2016
Indian government expected allow Apple Retail Stores without any sourcing requirement for 2-3 years – June 6, 2016
Indian government discussing waiver to permit Apple Retail Stores – May 30, 2016
Blow for Apple and Indian consumers as Indian government pushes protectionism – May 25, 2016
Blow for Apple and Indian consumers as Indian government pushes protectionism – May 25, 2016
Apple hits setback in push to open retail stores in India – May 24, 2016
Apple’s U-turn in India: From arrogance to servility – May 23, 2016
Apple finds potential new factory hub – in India – May 23, 2016
Apple’s Tim Cook samples Bollywood, cricket, in bid to woo India – May 21, 2016
India shows Apple CEO Cook the love it’s yet to give the pricey iPhone – May 20, 2016
Apple CEO Cook: ‘We are in India for the next thousand years’ – May 20, 2016
Watch Apple CEO Tim Cook at his first cricket game in India – May 19, 2016
Apple opens Maps development office in Hyderabad, India – May 19, 2016
Apple CEO Cook debuts in India – May 18, 2016
Apple to open first-of-its-kind iOS App Design and Development Accelerator in India – May 18, 2016
Tim Cook visits India: Apple to expand its Indian software development center, build local start-up accelerator program – May 17, 2016
Apple Retail Stores to open in India by end of next year – May 16, 2016
iPhone sales surge 56% in India as Apple eats into Samsung’s high-end share – May 8, 2016
Apple deprivileged as India bows to Washington D.C. consensus on mobile phone import tariffs – May 7, 2016
India rejects Apple’s plan to import and sell refurbished iPhones – May 3, 20167
