Apple's opportunity to expand retail into India
The Wall Street Journal's Livemint blog reports that Apple may be considering opening up retail operations in India as soon as it possibly can, following a new governmental ruling in that country that foreign companies can indeed open and own retail stores. Apple's been poking around India for a while -- the company reportedly thought about opening a call support center there a few years ago, but eventually decided not to. And while Apple's retail sales in China and elsewhere have definitely been on the rise, India hasn't opened its doors to foreign retailers yet -- until now.
Apple of course says it doesn't comment on future plans, but presumably the company is still interested in selling its devices in India, and before long we'll see some retail presence planned for an opening there. There is still a rule that says 30% of the produced items sold must come from local Indian resources, but even the government says that if that limit remains a major obstacle for Apple, it may be reversed as well.
Interesting. Apple's seen a lot of success in emerging markets like China already, and obviously India also represents a lot of potential as well. We'll have to see what route Apple takes to set up shop in the country, and how those decisions work out for them going forward.
