Apple's Tim Cook Visits India for 'De-China' Strategy... First Store Opens Next Week

Production Bases Accelerate Even Amid De-Chinaization

Apple is opening its first offline store in India, a country with a population of 1.4 billion. This reflects Apple's growing recognition of India's importance not only as a production base but also as a sales market amid its accelerated 'de-China' strategy.

On the 11th (local time), Bloomberg News reported, citing sources, that Apple will open Apple Stores in Mumbai on the 18th and in New Delhi on the 20th. The report added that CEO Cook is expected to attend the events in person, marking his first visit to India in seven years since 2016.

Previously, Apple reorganized its overseas business division by establishing India as a separate headquarters to target the Indian market, which is the world's second-largest smartphone market and one of the fastest-growing. India was separated from the department that covered the Middle East, Mediterranean, Eastern Europe, and Africa.

Although the iPhone's share in the Indian smartphone market is only about 5%, Apple believes it is steadily growing. Apple first launched an online store in India in 2020 to start direct sales.

[Image source=AFP Yonhap News]

The reason Apple is focusing on India is to reduce business uncertainties caused by the US-China conflict. For several years, Apple has been relocating key suppliers from China, its largest production base, to India.

During the US-China trade dispute under the Donald Trump administration, Apple insisted on production in China. However, as the risk of tariffs on China became apparent, Apple initiated its de-China movement. The supply chain disruption caused by the COVID-19 pandemic starting in 2020 dealt another blow.

The crisis spread beyond production to warehouses, logistics, transportation, and distribution, causing temporary suspension of production in China. Foxconn's Zhengzhou plant, Apple's largest partner in China, faced production setbacks from late last year due to a surge in COVID-19 cases, government lockdown policies, and protests over working conditions.

Foxconn has started building a new production base in India with an investment exceeding $700 million (about 910 billion KRW). This is the largest single investment ever made in the Indian market. Apple plans to increase its production share in India from the current 5% to 25% through this.

After the last quarter's earnings announcement, CEO Cook compared the early days of Apple's entry into China with the current situation in India during a conference call, saying, "We are very focused on the Indian market," and "India is a very interesting and core market for us."

Although Apple's total revenue in the fourth quarter of last year decreased by 5% year-on-year, it recorded double-digit growth in India. CEO Cook stated, "Apple is setting quarterly sales records in the Indian market and achieving double-digit growth annually."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.