Apple sees record quarter sales in India

Apple chief executive officer Tim Cook on Friday said the iPhone maker has set a new September quarter sales record in India due to strong response of its company-owned online store in the country.In its July-September earnings call, Cook said: “Geographically, we set September quarter records in the Americas, Europe and Rest of Asia Pacific. We also set a September quarter record in India, thanks in part to a very strong reception to this quarter’s launch of our online store in the country.”While Cook did not elaborate further, industry executives said strong sales of iPhones especially of the iPhone SE and 11 series, iPads and Mac computers further fueled sales in India as consumers preferred to buy Apple devices as India continues work and education from home due to the Covid-19 pandemic. Apple rolled out the Apple online store in India late September where it has been selling and fulfilling all its products to consumers, although often at higher prices than what they are available in e-commerce marketplaces Amazon and Walmart-owned Flipkart. Analysts had called out that Apple needs to maintain pricing parity with other e-commerce platforms to gain share with its online store.The Covid-19 pandemic has boosted sales of electronics products, including smartphones, in online platforms in India. As per marker researcher and sales tracker GfK India, e-commerce contribution for smartphones is up from 29% to 32% in June-August this year over last, whereas for premium smartphones priced above Rs 30,000 the contribution is up from 38% to 43%.Apple’s new iPhones – iPhone 12 and 12 Pro – will go on sale in India from today and the company has already received the highest ever pre-orders on the two models in the country, industry executives said.As per Hong Kong-based smartphone shipment tracker Counterpoint Research, Apple has overtaken China’s OnePlus as the leader in the premium smartphone segment or those priced above Rs 30,000 even before its flagship iPhone 12 series launch. This is driven by strong demand for its iPhone SE 2020 and the iPhone 11. The researcher said the upcoming flagship iPhone 12 will further strengthen Apple’s position in the October-December quarter.

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