Impact of coronavirus on Apple production
Foxconn, with a million employees, is Apple’s number one supplier and on the front lines of the Coronavirus (Covid-19) epidemic, which is expected to have massive economic consequences. On February 21, Beijing reported 118 additional deaths in China in 24 hours, bringing the total number to 2,236, not including the territories of Hong Kong or Macao. the epidemic is spreading very quickly and some Foxconn factories are only a few hundred kilometers from Beijing.
Foxconn, the main iPhone assembler, whose production is split between two huge locations in mainland China, Shenzhen (Guangdong Province) and Zhengzhou (Henan). These veritable “factory towns”, with dormitories, shops and transport networks, alone employ more than 500,000 workers. But with the Covid-19 epidemic, declared a global health emergency on January 30 by the World Health Organization (WHO), plant efficiency is severely impaired.
The Taiwanese giant declared a loss of turnover of 12% for the month of January compared to the same month of last year. And Apple said that the manufacturing sites of our manufacturing partners for the production of the iPhone are restarting at a slower than expected level.
Apple has sent a support package to employees in Hubei Province and Wenzhou City, who have been stranded at home due to the coronavirus outbreak. The package contains food, sanitary and hygiene products (including protective masks), and an iPad. Attention appreciated by the families who received this package.
Apple is going to set up in India
So far Apple distributes its products only through intermediaries. The company will open its first physical store in the country in 2021. As for online sales, they should start this year.
Apple is not yet directly present on the Indian market, because for a long time, the price of iPhone was too high for this market. Besides, some Indians earn less in a year than the price of certain models. On the other hand, the legislation requires that to set up, a foreign merchant uses at least 30% of its materials from the country, which is not the case with Apple. Tim Cook had to convince the government to do an exception. Apple CEO says local partner could have been used, but he objected to outsourcing brand.
With an arrival in 2020, the firm however seems to set up at the right time. With 700 million Internet users, the Indian market is dominated by Samsung and Xiaomi, which Apple cannot yet overshadow, but the Cupertino company has enjoyed a certain craze since the launch of the iPhone 11, model relatively accessible compared to others. In the fourth quarter of 2019, sales in India thus jumped by around 200% compared to the end of 2018.
