NEW DELHI: Apple chief executive officer (CEO) Tim Cook on Friday said India is an ‘incredibly exciting’ market and it is great to be in the country as a lot of people entering the middle class who could be potential customer for the company’s products.
The company registered a strong double-digit growth year-on-year (YoY) in the second quarter (Q2) of 2023, the Apple CEO said. Cook, in Apple’s March quarter earnings call for analysts, also said that he was “delighted and excited by the enthusiasm he saw about the brand in India”. Cook recently visited India to unveil its first two retail stores in the country.
“Looking at the business in India, we did set a quarterly record, grew very strong, double digits YoY. So it was quite a good quarter for us, taking a step back, India is an incredibly exciting market. It’s a major focus for us. I was just there, and the dynamism in the market, the vibrancy is unbelievable,” said Cook.
Apple reported quarterly revenue of $94.8 billion, down 3% on-year, with iPhone sales contributing $51.3 billion. However, the company said it has witnessed stellar quarter in emerging markets, including Indonesia, Mexico, the Philippines, Saudi Arabia, Turkey, the UAE, Brazil and Malaysia.
Sharing his experience of his recent India visit, Tim Cook said he couldn’t have been more delighted by the excitement and enthusiasm of the customers, developers, creators and team members in India. “Over time, we’ve been expanding our operations there to serve more customers, and three years ago, we launched the Apple Store online, and then, we launched two stores just a few weeks ago, and they’re off to a great start, one in Mumbai and one in Delhi,” he added.
For the last one year, Apple has performed very well in Indian market. According to CyberMedia Research (CMR), the iPhone maker captured 4% market share in the country with a 17% YoY increase in its shipments in 2022. The company sold nearly 6.7 million units in 2022, as against 4.8 million in 2021 and 2.7 million in 2020.
“What I do see in India is a lot of people entering the middle class, and I’m hopeful that we can convince some number of them to buy an iPhone and we’ll see how that works out. But right now, it’s working out well,” he added. On opportunity across the board, including in streaming services, Cook said Average revenue per user (ARPU) is much lower in India than other regions whether it is TV, movie streaming or music.
Seen stellar quarter in emerging markets: Cook
Tim Cook, in Apple’s March quarter earnings call, said he was “delighted and excited by the enthusiasm he saw about the brand in India”. Cook recently visited India to unveil its first two retail stores in the country. Company said it has witnessed stellar quarter in emerging markets.