India has been a tough market for Apple to crack. It has even started manufacturing certain models in the country so that they not be hit by import taxes and can thus be competitively priced in the market. The strategy might not have paid dividends so far because a new report claims that the company has sold fewer than 1 million iPhones in India in the first half of this year.
Bloomberg reports that fewer than 1 million iPhones were sold in the country so far this year. Three Apple sales executives have reportedly left the company as its now restructuring operations in India.
Despite making one of the most sought after smartphones, Apple’s market share in India hovers around two percent. A report by Counterpoint Research revealed that the company may have sold only 3.2 million iPhones in India last year. Now that it’s said to have sold fewer than 1 million units in the first half of this year, it seems unlikely that Apple will be able to match 2017’s sales figures in the country.
Apple has hinted time and again that it wants to aggressively compete in the country and with good reason. India is one of the biggest smartphone markets but the high tariffs force customers to opt for cheaper handsets from Android manufacturers. Apple is manufacturing the iPhone 6S and iPhone SE locally to avoid the tariffs and get competitive on price but that doesn’t seem to be helping just yet.
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