Apple opens its first store in India, building out consumer base
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Apple's (NASDAQ:AAPL) plans for a pivot to India can be seen by CEO Tim Cook's visit to the country, which is quickly becoming the tech giant's most important manufacturing base outside of China.
Cook is set to open up the country's first Apple Store in Mumbai on Tuesday, followed by a second one in Delhi on Thursday, after saying he was "very bullish on India" on last quarter's earnings call.
Only about 4% of the nation's nearly 700M smartphone users have iPhones, but the company is hoping to build the brand and consumer loyalty, with Cook also reportedly set to pay a visit to Prime Minister Narendra Modi (Wedbush Securities calls it a "strategic poker move.")
Apple's (AAPL) revenue in India even grew by nearly 50% to a record $6B over the past year, according to Bloomberg, and follows other fresh initiatives, like the recent rollout of an Apple Card with a high-yield savings account from Goldman Sachs.