Apple Stock News
Apple’s Attempt to Break into India Market Fails
Apple released their earnings report for the second fiscal quarter of 2016 on April 27th revealing that stagnant iPhone sales had caused a drop in revenue for the first time in 13 years. As the market in the United States and Europe has become saturated, Apple must look to emerging markets in China and India to expand their sales.
Apple’s iPhones make up only 2% of the phone market in India most likely due to the iPhone’s price levels. Apple has requested twice now for the right to import and sell refurbished phones in an attempt to appeal to consumer demands for cheaper smartphones, but was again denied.
The company’s rivals rallied against them claiming that Apple would simply flood the market with used phones and would thwart a program in India meant to encourage local manufacturing. The Make-in-India program would certainly have been affected negatively if Apple’s application was accepted.
At the end of March, Apple launched their newest model, the iPhone SE, which is the same size as the iPhone 5s and is being sold for much less than their usual phones at $400. Still, this reduced price is much higher than the average price for smartphones in India and may not be able to boost Apple enough to make a difference in their revenue decrease.
