Apple doubles sales in India in Q4 2020 after change in strategy

Apple doubled iPhone sales in Q4 2020 in India. The company sold 1.5 million devices nationwide, which is 100% growth from the same period a year earlier. These are numbers calculated by Counterpoint and CyberMedia, collected in TechCrunch hours before tonight’s shareholders conference.

India as a growth driver for Apple

India is a tough nut to crack for Apple. For years he has been planning a strategy for successfully enter the country, where he has a testimonial presence. Now and thanks to these changes, it finally seems to be paying off. According to analysis firms, these are the most remarkable data from the Asian country:

• 1.5 million iPhones sold in the fourth quarter of 2020, up 100% year-over-year.
• Market share doubling during the quarter to 4%.
• 3.2 million iPhones sold in India in 2020, 60% more than in 2019.

It should be remembered that these figures are estimates and do not have the official endorsement of the company. The two analysis companies use a methodology that may not fully analyze the market. While Apple hasn’t released unit sales figures for years, we can expect some sort of comment on the Asian country.

Apple has long positioned itself in this market, hoping to capture a key part of it.

A rapidly growing market

All eyes are on this market which has experienced spectacular growth in recent years. With most of the world in a mature state in the smartphone market

and much more modest growth (even declines), India represents a hope for many manufacturers. According to Canalys, the country reached 50 million units sold for the first time in Q3 2020. Of course, in the previous quarter sales collapsed by 50% due to the coronavirus. By removing this exception, growth fluctuated between 10% and 30%.

Capturing part of this market, which goes in the direction of being one of the 150 million units per year (China is about twice as large), is a very succulent target for manufacturers. Apple has been working for several years to bring its iPhones to the country. A difficult task, given that electronic products imported into India are subject to tariffs.

In order to avoid them, companies must meet certain requirements, such as the manufacture of devices in the country’s facilities. Apple asked Foxconn to start manufacturing the iPhone 11 in the country last summer, following the success of the iPhone XR there. But other partners in the company started making older models earlier.

More precisely, Wistron was in charge of the assembly the original iPhone SE, iPhone 6s and iPhone 7. The 2020 iPhone SE is also made there. That, combined with greater financing facilities or bundles that included AirPods with the iPhone 11, facilitated sales in the country after tariffs disappeared.

Apple opened its online store in India at the end of 2020. And it is expected to open its first physical store this year. There is still a lot of work to be done, but the results seem to be starting to show.