Apple will start selling iPhones directly to Indian consumers first through its own online store as the Indian government on Wednesday allowed foreign single brand companies to sell directly via webstores, according to India’s The Economic Times report.
The webstore is likely to come up over the next 3-5 months as it involves duplicating its global online store template for the Indian market, said the executives who are aware of Apple’s plans.
The Indian government has also allowed exports and contract manufacturing to be counted in the mandatory 30% local sourcing norm over a period of five years.
About 35-40% of iPhone sales in the country come from ecommerce and hence the company wants to latch onto this opportunity, one of the executives said.
“Online is also a big sales driver for iPad tablets and MacBook laptops, and contributes over 25% of annual sales in India,” he said.
At present, Apple has online sales partnerships with Amazon, Flipkart and Paytm Mall in the country where Apple authorised third-party sales of products.