Apple will make its awaited online commodity operations in India beginning in the third portion of this year, according to a statement. The Cupertino organization was beginning contemplated to commence selling accessories online in the country in the first quarter. Last year, the central government lifted rules that had strained foreign companies including Apple to cause at least 30 percent of their products regionally. It also conceded single-brand retailers to set up online stores before stabilizing their physical stores. That move prompted Apple to look for its online appearance before opening its brick-and-mortar stores in the nation.
The quarter between July and September is the new tentative deadline for establishing Apple’s online store in India, reports TechCrunch, citing a person familiar with the development. The company is said to be working on logistics of setting up the online store, and CEO Tim Cook would arrive in person to make its announcement.
In addition to the online store, Apple is in plans to open its first official physical store in India that is reported to be situated in Mumbai. It might not be ready by this year, the report notes. An Apple spokesperson declined to comment on the report.
Apple markets its commodities by e-commerce gateways such as Amazon, Flipkart, and Paytm Mall. However, the organization often suffers an impact on its earnings through online businesses in the country as these portals offer Apple products with heavy discounts. The organization also extends its commodities by various third-party offline stores in the country.
In August last year, Apple expressed its interest in initiating its native retail operations in India. the company had mentioned in a statement that Apple appreciates the support and hard work by Prime Minister Modi and his team to make this possible and we look forward to one day embracing consumers to India’s first Apple store. It will take them some time to get their plans started and they might announce more at a future date.
A statement by Bloomberg in late August 2019 proposed that Apple would begin online sales of its devices in India within months. The company led by Tim Cook, however, appears to have delayed the plans.
Cook during the earnings calls on Tuesday highlighted that Apple registered double-digit sales growth in India for iPhone models in the holiday quarter (October-December period). The organization collected a total revenue of $56 billion (roughly Rs. 3,98,600 crores) from its iPhone devices worldwide.
