The US and China were the only countries that accounted for
more than 10% of Apple's net sales in 2012 and 2011. Apple CEO Tim Cook had
time and again said China is where Apple would see future growth, and famously
said last year that while he loved India, the country had much less business
potential. This is in stark contrast to Samsung, which has identified India as
a key market for its smartphone business.
But the growing popularity of iPhones in India has made the
US consumer technology company re-assess the Indian market. Its share of
smartphones shipped to India, measured in value terms, rose to 15.6% in
October-December from 3.9% in the preceding quarter. This growth was led by a
few strategic initiatives undertaken by the company. In November, Apple moved
away from its global model of selling phones bundled with talktime only through
mobile operators in India. It appointed retail distributors and started selling
iPhones directly to consumers, who in turn could opt for any GSM operator .
"Earlier, most of us would do iPhone sales of Rs 30-40
lakh a month. Now each store does monthly business of Rs 2 crore . Apple has
sold more iPhones in India since November than they did in the last four
years," said the owner of an Apple premium reseller.
But experts feel it will be a tall order for Apple to catch
up or even come near Samsung, the smartphone market leader in India and across
the world. The Korean company's market share, measured in value of smartphones
shipped to India, stands at over 38%. It has built a strong distribution
network with over 500 exclusive smartphone and tablet stores, christened as
Samsung Smartphone Cafes, as well as another 350 Samsung Plazas where it sells
its entire product portfolio.
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