Sam Oliver
Over the last three months, Apple has seen its sales grow 400 percent in India, thanks to the company's "aggressive" approach.
Apple's recent success in India was profiled on Friday by The Times of India, which said that while the iPhone maker has "ignored" India for years, its recent attention has paid off. Apple is said to have begun an "extensive advertising and marketing campaign" for the iPhone in particular.
Those efforts have resulted in sales increasing by as much as 400 percent, according to estimates from IDC. And there's much more room to grow in India, where smartphone penetration rates are less than 10 percent.
"Apple, founded by the late Steve Jobs who came to India in search of spiritual salvation, has had only a marginal presence in the country," Friday's report said. "It has a negligible share of the local smartphone market, where Samsung is the clear leader."
Apple's recent interest in India is reminiscent of the company's push into China that began a few years ago. That approach has also been highly successful for the company, as China has become a key component of the company's continued growth.
Last year's iPhone 5 launch represented the fastest ever global rollout for a new handset. The iPhone 5 launched in India on Nov. 2, and around the same time Apple started billing content through the iOS App Store in the Indian rupee currency, a switch from the previous billing done in U.S. dollars.
The iTunes Music Store also launched in India, along with 55 other countries, in early December, bringing Apple's total number of countries to 119. The iTunes Store also launched in India with local artists, such as AR Rahman, in addition to U.S. acts.
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66 Comments
Although Tim Cook has not spoken much about India, it should be considered a market as important as China. So this is good news. Hopefully, it is a humble beginning. Perhaps an Apple Store is in the works.
This was always coming as the next market after China. Once China Mobile comes onboard there will little to no more rapid gains that will happen outside of a new breakthrough device. I think it's markets like China and India that a larger iPhone might be a huge hit.
Is that the flag from Niger, Tajikistan or India?
[quote name="PhilBoogie" url="/t/155872/apples-aggressive-approach-in-india-increases-sales-by-400#post_2273647"]Is that the flag from Niger, Tajikistan or India?[/quote] Applestan, United States of Apple, or People's Republic of Apple are my guesses. PS: How many countries have a lower GDP than Apple's profit last year? How many countries could Apple buy with its cash?
Is that the flag from Niger, Tajikistan or India?
Yeah... Commercializing one's flag can be off-putting.
The article didn't mention any Apple actions that seemed particularly "aggressive" -- rather just "attentive" to the needs and preferences of the customer.
In any case, I am glad to see that Apple is making some efforts to address this massive marketplace.
I think that India is one of the societies that could benefit from an iPad Mini/iPhone combination..