Having opened the first two Apple Stores in May 2001, Apple rapidly ramped up its retail ambitions over the past 22 years. The company currently operates more than 500 stores across 23 countries, generating tens of billions in retail sales every year. This week, Apple entered India by opening two stores in the country - in Mumbai and capital New Delhi. Before the India foray, Apple newly entered the retail market in South Korea, Singapore, Taiwan and Thailand as well as Austria.
Our chart illustrates the global spread of Apple’s retail footprint as well as the obvious blind spots outside of developed markets. These are shrinking a little bit now due to the recent openings, but the high price of Apple products remains a hurdle for those buying in locations like India. According to the Statista Consumer Insights, few Indian are currently purchasing Apple products and services. While among urban Indians, 11 percent said they used an iPhone, the share of iOS phones was as low as 4 percent when considering operating system data for the whole country.
