India at the tipping point of strong growth: Apple’s Cook – Times of India
NEW DELHI: Apple CEO Tim Cook on Friday praised India’s burgeoning middle class during the company’s quarterly earnings call as he said the market is at the “tipping point” of a strong growth trajectory, the applause coming within weeks of his visit to the country to open the first two company-owned stores.
Such was the bullishness that Cook, while addressing queries over a conference call in the US, mentioned India nearly 20 times during the interaction where he spoke about record sales in the country, apart from some other markets. “… India is an incredibly exciting market. It’s a major focus for us. I was just there, and the dynamism in the market, the vibrancy is unbelievable… There are a lot of people coming into the middle class, and I really feel that India is at a tipping point, and it’s great to be there,” he said.
The Apple CEO said the company – which reported global revenues of $94.8 billion for the March quarter – had record numbers in India.
‘Opportunities for Apple in services too’
Apple CEO Tim Cook, addressing queries over a conference call in the US after the global earnings announcement, was bullish about India and said, “Looking at the business in India, we did set a quarterly record, grew very strong, double digits year-over-year. So, it was quite a good quarter for us.”
He said that the company has been expanding its operations in India to serve more customers, and gave the example of the Apple Online Store that went live around three years ago. “We’ve got a number of channel partners in the country as well that we’re partnering with, and we’re very happy with how that’s going overall. Overall, I couldn’t be more delighted and excited by the enthusiasm I’m seeing for the brand there.”
Responding to a question comparing the market in India today to that in China a decade ago, Cook said each country is different and has its journey, “So, I hesitate to compare too much. But what I do see in India is a lot of people entering the middle class, and I’m hopeful that we can convince some number of them to buy an iPhone, and we’ll see how that works out. But right now, it’s working out well.”
Speaking about the opening of stores at Mumbai and Delhi, he said that there is considerable excitement in the market around Apple’s products. “I was there to see it for myself, and I couldn’t have been more delighted by the excitement and enthusiasm of the customers, developers, creators and team members I got to spend time with. I think there’s an opportunity across the board, including in services. Obviously, the ARPUs are lower in India for whether you’re talking about TV and movie streaming or music. But if you look at it over a long arc of time, I think there’s a good opportunity across the board.”
Such was the bullishness that Cook, while addressing queries over a conference call in the US, mentioned India nearly 20 times during the interaction where he spoke about record sales in the country, apart from some other markets. “… India is an incredibly exciting market. It’s a major focus for us. I was just there, and the dynamism in the market, the vibrancy is unbelievable… There are a lot of people coming into the middle class, and I really feel that India is at a tipping point, and it’s great to be there,” he said.
The Apple CEO said the company – which reported global revenues of $94.8 billion for the March quarter – had record numbers in India.
‘Opportunities for Apple in services too’
Apple CEO Tim Cook, addressing queries over a conference call in the US after the global earnings announcement, was bullish about India and said, “Looking at the business in India, we did set a quarterly record, grew very strong, double digits year-over-year. So, it was quite a good quarter for us.”
He said that the company has been expanding its operations in India to serve more customers, and gave the example of the Apple Online Store that went live around three years ago. “We’ve got a number of channel partners in the country as well that we’re partnering with, and we’re very happy with how that’s going overall. Overall, I couldn’t be more delighted and excited by the enthusiasm I’m seeing for the brand there.”
Responding to a question comparing the market in India today to that in China a decade ago, Cook said each country is different and has its journey, “So, I hesitate to compare too much. But what I do see in India is a lot of people entering the middle class, and I’m hopeful that we can convince some number of them to buy an iPhone, and we’ll see how that works out. But right now, it’s working out well.”
Speaking about the opening of stores at Mumbai and Delhi, he said that there is considerable excitement in the market around Apple’s products. “I was there to see it for myself, and I couldn’t have been more delighted by the excitement and enthusiasm of the customers, developers, creators and team members I got to spend time with. I think there’s an opportunity across the board, including in services. Obviously, the ARPUs are lower in India for whether you’re talking about TV and movie streaming or music. But if you look at it over a long arc of time, I think there’s a good opportunity across the board.”
