APPLE ‘PRETTY SERIOUS’ ABOUT TAKING ITS BUSINESS TO INDIA

We have had this move coming for a long time now and finally; we could have Apple set up shop and start to manufacture units of its iPhone in the Indian market. If the units of the iPhones and possibly, iPads then show good growth in the region over time, they could look to start introducing their MacBook devices into the production pipeline also. Not putting the chariot before the horse, a new report coming out of the Asian country has revealed that Apple is looking to strike some deal with the Indian government and already, they have billed the production of their units in this region to commence by Aril, next year. The report, which has been made to the public courtesy of the Times of India, reveals further that the company has already started to post ads for jobs and positions in the country.

The report has cited industry sources to back up its story, and it stated that Apple would be linking up with Wistron to set up a manufacturing plant in Bengaluru. To be specific, Apple would see its facility grounded at Peenya which is deemed the industrial center of the city. This situation isn’t the first time that Apple would make a move for this country, but this time, it is claimed that they are very serious about expanding their business to the good people of India. This would also be a good move for Apple, regarding being able to capture the market better and also, sell phone units at a lower price compared to their former asking prices.

Looking at the huge price tags that the iPhones carry in India as opposed to other regions; Apple is not at fault for seemingly exploiting the people. This is because the Cupertino-based company has to pay 12.5 percent in additional tariff for each device brought in and this affects the pricing they have on them. With the new move, such a tariff plan would not apply to the company anymore, and they would be able to sell at lower and more competitive prices.

It is no new knowledge that while the iPhones are designed by Apple from start to finish, they are made possible instead by Foxconn – a company that has been exclusive to the iPhone and Apple brand in the United States for years now. Foxconn is taking its business to India, alongside Apple, but they do not wish to keep serving the company alone in this region. According to the report, Foxconn is making arrangements to enable them manufacture units for the likes of Xiaomi and OnePlus. If these partnerships work out well and Foxconn can expand its capacity and strength on little time, we could start to see even more OEMs sign up with the ODM.

To further lend credence the story that April 2017 is the time when Apple rears its head into India, the job site of the company has a series of openings available and every one of them links back to India as the place of assignment. Some of the positions listed for grabs on the website include, but are not limited to, iPhone Operations Manager, Vendor Manager, Regional Field Sakes Manager, Site Reliability Engineer, Partnership Manager, Demand Generation Program Manager, Software Engineering Lead and a host of others. It is worth nothing, but Apple’s new manufacturing presence in India would mean that it is finally able to set up the brick and mortar shops in the region. Indian law stipulates that for a company to be able to set up retail stores, they must make some part of their products (about 30 percent to be precise) in the country, and this is one regulation that Apple had not been able to work around in the past.

Current CEO of the giant smartphone company, Tim Cook, believes that India is the next big thing in the books of Apple and we tend to agree with that. Even when the iPhone units were sold at ridiculously high prices in the region, they still had nice patronages from the market. Now that they would be able to focus on the Indian arm of their establishment as a singularity and also have better means of reaching out and placing targeted ads, this is a nice breakout move for Apple. While we are looking forward to an impressive third and fourth quarter income postings from Apple in the year 2017, it was also stated in another report that Apple is looking to get the favor of the Indian government before commencing production. Apparently, they would love to have lesser taxes imposed on their imports and manufacturing. This they revealed in a letter that they sent to the industry ministry, and these concessions are supposed to hold even after the government starts to implement its goods and services tax.

Given that Apple is a very profitable brand, and looking at the number of jobs to be created here, this shouldn’t be too hard a choice for the government.