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India needs more Apples: Replicating Apple's model to attract top brands
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While the jury is still out on many of the production-linked incentive schemes (PLI) introduced by the Indian government, one undeniable success has been the scheme targeting smartphone production. Used largely by Apple, and to a lesser extent by Samsung, this scheme has helped India export over $24 billion worth of smartphones in FY25, up from virtually zero in FY18. Today, India is the world's third-largest smartphone exporter, after China and Vietnam. Apple now assembles about 20 per cent of all iPhones in India, and this percentage is set to keep rising. While local value addition is limited — still
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Time of India
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Time of India
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Apple chief executive Tim Cook said growth in India accelerated in the June quarter with the iPhone maker reporting record revenue driven by double-digit expansion in smartphones, Macs and services. It's not just Apple that's upbeat on India. A dozen global chiefs of large companies such as Coca-Cola, Unilever, Reckitt Benckiser, PepsiCo, Nestle, Mondelez, Whirlpool, LG, Domino's, AO Smith and FedEx have renewed their bet on the country after a challenging phase. The CEOs were speaking on earnings calls for the last quarter. Cook said new Apple retail stores—four of them—will open in India later this year, adding that most of the iPhones sold in the US were assembled in India in the last quarter amid uncertainty fuelled by US President Donald Trump's tariff talk. Apple currently has two stores in the country, in Mumbai and Delhi. Executives across companies said there is a visible revival of demand in India after months of slowing sales. 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Research firm Numerator (formerly Kantar) said in a report last week that demand for groceries, and household and personal care slowed to 3.9% by volume year-on-year in the June quarter, impacted by unseasonal rains. 'In the case of India, it's never going to be a straight line and indeed Q2 was not. But we are very bullish on India overall and optimistic about recovery,' said James Quincey, global chief executive of Coca-Cola. 'We've got a strong plan from a marketing and innovation point of view.… with some re-energised focus.' Coca-Cola's unit case volume declined 5% in the Asia-Pacific region in the quarter. It attributed this to a decline in India due to the early onset of the monsoon and geopolitical tensions 'after a strong start to the year', Quincey said. Rival PepsiCo had also reported a decline in its beverage business in India for the 12-week period ended June 14 on account of early rain, but the beverage and snacks maker's global chief executive Ramon Laguarta expressed confidence in India. 'We will adapt our price pack architecture to offer consumers more value and convenience,' he said. The summer months between March and July generally contribute over half of annual sales for soft drink makers. Karan Bhatia, partner, consumer products and retail sector, EY-Parthenon, said: 'Urban growth has been lagging largely because wage inflation was much lower over the last few years. But now, given the closing gap between wage inflation and overall inflation, we expect urban growth rates to hold steady.' Bhatia added that urban growth is expected to improve over the next four-six quarters and get back to 7-8%. 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