Apple is reportedly planning on opening its own online store in India to start selling iPhone SE which is being manufactured locally there. A report from ET Tech claims that the Cupertino company will be adding more products to its Online India Store as its starts adding more locally manufactured content to its portfolio.
Indian government allows only those companies to sell their products through their own online stores only if they manufacture those items within the country. According to the report, around 50% of the total iPhoen sale in India are happening through the online stores, which is pretty higher than the industry average. One reason for such high percentage of online sales for iPhone can be the heavy discounts offered by Indian e-commerce websites to push sales.
“Apple will initially start its online store by selling iPhone SE which will be manufactured in India and will be in line with government policies. The company is hopeful to start the online store in India around Diwali,” said one of the executive.
While the local online stores have entered into a price war, Apple’s own official online store won’t be indulging in any such war when it begins selling locally manufactured iPhone SE online. Instead, the fruit company will offer better customer support and value-added services such as laser engraving and some of the variants that will exclusively be available through the official store only.
The plan to open a retail store in India is also in the pipeline, however, the company does not plan on expanding as quickly as it did in China. Over the next decade, the company plans on opening 5-6 flagship retail store across major metro cities of India.
[Via ET Tech]