Consumer electronics giant Apple is betting that India will become its next big growth market, as the iPhone maker opens its first of two retail stores in the country today.
The opening of an Apple store in Mumbai today and on Thursday in Delhi “marks a significant strategic move” for the company, Wedbush Securities analyst Daniel Ives said in a note to clients yesterday.
India currently accounts for less than 2 per cent of Apple’s total revenue, Ives said. Apple has had only a “minimal presence” in the world’s most populous country. India recently surpassed China in population.
“Apple is now aggressively looking at India from both a production and retail expansion over the coming years,” Ives said. It could ramp annual revenue from today’s $6 billion to $20bn by 2025, he said.
South Korea-based Samsung and Chinese firms Oppo, Vivo and Xiaomi are the biggest smartphone vendors in India now. But Apple looks to take market share with its retail expansion in India.
“While (Apple’s) market share in India is sub-10pc today, we believe Apple through its unmatched marketing and brand presence will be able to turn India into an incremental growth catalyst,” Ives said.
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