India is fast becoming Apple?s hottest market after China. Globally, iPad sales have been dropping, from 16.3 million units in the second quarter to 13.2 million. In comparison, sales in India were up by 45%. There?s another reason why India is so gung ho on Apple products. Till fairly recently, India was pretty much ignored by Apple as a viable market. The iPhone 4 was launched in India 11 months after it hit stores worldwide. Even its iTunes store debuted in India in July 2012, almost 45 days after its launch in other Asian markets like Singapore and Hong Kong. Apple is now singing a different tune. The iPhone 5 and its updates were launched in India shortly after release in the US. Similarly, the iPad air was launched in the US in November and was available in India in December.
Recently, Apple?s CEO Tim Cook, talking about iPhone sales, pointed out India as a growth market. It looks like Apple is making up for its earlier indifference to India. Earlier, its marketing and sales came with a take-it-or-leave-it attitude. No longer. Apple stores are now brimming with promotions, cash-back offers and exchange schemes. Analysts as well as social media users are convinced that India has suddenly become an important market for Apple, which is looking at falling sales of its tablets and falling market share to hyper-active rivals like Samsung, Google and Amazon. Even the iPhone is being challenged by a flood of new smartphones. Just after the iPad Mini was launched in India, shortly after its American debut, Apple-watcher Lazylorenzo tweeted: ?It seems Apple has started to give India the treatment it deserves with regard to product launch times and pricing.? India?s bigger bite of the Apple means the strategy is paying off.
