Apple fails to establish foothold in market share, local production and retail presence in India

Two years ago, when Apple chief executive Tim Cook met Prime Minister Narendra Modi, India’s message was clear: Tell us what’s needed to promote local manufacturing and we will do it.

The Cupertino, California-based company, though, has since realised that the government won’t tailor rules for one company, and that the PM simply meant ease of doing business. Now, Apple is looking for a Plan B in a country that not only offers volumes but has the potential to be a manufacturing base in the backdrop of US-China trade tensions.

The circumstances are not happy for the phone maker. Already hit by a longer replacement cycle for its phones the world over, Apple has been struggling to sell in India, a market that has a plethora of less expensive, but equally featurerich options, from Chinese players.