1

Introduction
Apple Inc. is an American multinational corporation that designs and
manufactures consumer electronics and computer software products. Founded
in California in 1976, the company today leads the electronics market
worldwide and is amongst the most renowned brands of consumer durable
products globally (Apple Inc., 2021). The company eventually expanded to
several emerging international markets, including India. The first iPhone to
launch in India was iPhone 3G in August 2008. By 2011, only three years
following the company's official launch in the country, Apple’s India sales hit
$100 million — rising to $1 billion by 2015 (Purnell and Mickle, 2018).

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 Driving & Restraining Forces
Apple predicted that India as an emerging market with the second-highest
population in the world would present abundant new opportunities for the
company's growth. India, with several developing cities, was seen as a source
for expansion. This was one of the most prominent driving forces that invited
the company to invest in the Indian market. With 1.3 billion consumers, the
country is the world’s biggest untapped tech market. Just 24% of Indians own
smartphones, and the number of users is growing faster than in any other
country (Purnell and Mickle, 2018). Meanwhile, there was also an imminent
presence of restraining forces that complicated Apple's entry in India. Primarily,
the Indian government imposed a 20% tariff on products sold in India that are
manufactured abroad (Cohan, 2018). Secondly, with blooming business
practices, the Indian market was already a highly competitive landscape that
presented fierce rivalry for Apple. Despite the restraining forces, however,
Apple was able to successfully enter the market.

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 Strategic Orientation
Apple, regardless of the international markets it enters, has always followed a
strategy of global homogeneity, or globalisation. Therefore, within the EPRG
framework, it can be said that Apple follows the "G" model. Global
homogenization is a very common strategy amongst consumer durables, and
this is especially true for high-tech and new products, and for brands having
global appeal. Apple's global marketing strategy is straightforward. It is based
on cutting-edge technology and design, simplicity of use and the Apple logo.
These factors are kept constant by the company across all their markets - both
domestic and international.

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 Market Entry Model
Apple announced a tie-up in 2008 with two of the biggest players in the Indian
mobile communications market, Bharti Airtel, and Vodafone (Livemint PTI,
2008). The first iPhone in India was launched through these tie-ups. Eventually,
however, the model evolved as Apple moved from relying on tie-ups to setting
up retail stores exclusively for Apple products, via franchising. The company
currently has about 150 franchisee run Apple Premium Reseller stores in India,
which are up to 1,500 square feet in area (Bailay and Mukherjee, 2018).

Although Apple first entered the Indian market through a collaborative effort
with the two leading communication companies, the brand further developed
their market model after nearly a decade of selling in the country. In 2017,
Apple invested in India through FDI by shifting some of its production from
China to India, through their contract manufacturing partners, Foxconn and
Wistron (Banerjee, 2021). At the moment, the company manufactures the
iPhone SE (2020), the iPhone XR and iPhone 11 in India, and would soon start
manufacturing iPhone 12 in India as well. This move was intended to facilitate
an expansion of the company's relatively low market share in India. Apple was
able to achieve this goal, to a certain extent, as the company witnessed a
temporary boost in product sales post the implementation of this new market
strategy (Banerjee, 2021).

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In the recent years, the company's revenue has plunged in India, due to strong
competition from companies like OnePlus & Samsung, as well as reduced
demand for consumer durables following the pandemic. Consequently, Apple is
now attempting to reinvigorate sales through a new market model. Apple
India’s sales revamp strategy involves moving from five distributors to two,
reigning in the rapid expansion into neighbourhood stores that has failed to
provide consumer experience and entering into new agreements with all
partners including online sellers and offline stores to ensure sales take place at
company-mandated prices (Bailay and Mukherjee, 2018).

Apple also plans to set up bigger franchisee outlets at key locations in

metropolitan cities in India. These 5-6 franchisee-run outlets will each be at
least three times larger than the current, 1,000-squarefoot stores and may even
go up to 5,000 square foot, three senior industry executives said (Bailay and
Mukherjee, 2018). The ‘Flagship Apple Premium Reseller’ outlets will become
a “stepdown” version of the iconic company-owned Apple Retail Stores and
will come up in extremely prominent locations as anchor shops in malls and
high-street shopping areas. It is projected that the new franchised outlets will be
launched in New Delhi, Mumbai, Bengaluru, and Chennai, which are Apple’s
biggest markets in India, and later in Hyderabad and Pune.

Apple's new market model strategy differs drastically from the original market
entry strategy, in the way that it is more intensive and would expand market
opportunities for the company through an exploration of newer channels of
distribution.

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