Apple Inc has applied to open its own stores in India, a strategy that might help it better target a fast-growing market just as iPhone sales might be peaking.
Apple yesterday said it has filed a request with the Indian government to bring its retail outlets to the world’s second-largest country.
Emerging markets are expected to prove crucial to Apple, as some analysts predict a decline this year in sales of the iPhone, which accounts for about two-thirds of the company’s revenue.
Apple CEO Tim Cook is searching for growth opportunities as smartphone sales flatten and China’s economy slows.
Apple has 2 percent of the Indian market, according to International Data Corp, and needs to make inroads against competitors including Samsung Electronics Co, Xiaomi Inc (小米) and Micromax Informatics Ltd.
Apple mostly uses resellers in India for its products. Redington India Ltd, Apple’s main domestic distributor, fell as much as 9 percent yesterday, heading for its lowest level since September last year.
Apple’s shares are down 8.2 percent this year in New York.
The Indian government in November last year relaxed sourcing rules for foreign companies seeking to sell a single brand in the country, saying they would not have to procure 30 percent of a product’s inputs locally if they are retailing high-technology goods. That paved the way for Apple, which makes most of its devices in China.
“Apple can confirm the filing,” the company said in an e-mail.
The Economic Times reported that Apple submitted an application to the Indian Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion.
Amitabh Kant, secretary of the agency, was not available for comment.
Apple’s stores, estimated by some analysts to produce the highest revenue-per-square-foot in the US brick-and-mortar retail industry, also promote the brand by holding workshops for customers.
The Cupertino, California-based company currently has at least 24 stores in China as part of a global network of more than 460.
It expects to open or replace as many as 50 stores globally this year, Apple chief financial officer Luca Maestri told investors in October last year.
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