Apple to Open First Apple Stores in India Within 18 Months

Honestly, I don't want to sound racist or anything, but how exactly are they expecting any kind of customers from a country like India? I understand China, it is a country with a lot of potential in terms of development, but India has no chance whatsoever, because of how late it is in technology. Besides, there are many other countries which would need an Apple Store more, and many others which have some but only a few of them, so I don't understand this decision other than a "One billion people in a country means lots of customers" logic.

I don't think you are racist, just ill informed. Do a quick web search as a start.

Honestly, I don't want to sound racist or anything, but how exactly are they expecting any kind of customers from a country like India? I understand China, it is a country with a lot of potential in terms of development, but India has no chance whatsoever, because of how late it is in technology. Besides, there are many other countries which would need an Apple Store more, and many others which have some but only a few of them, so I don't understand this decision other than a "One billion people in a country means lots of customers" logic.

I'm not sure what sort of picture you've painted in your head about India, but in a country with a population of a billion plus individuals, the ratio of people who can afford Apple products can be compared to that of developed nations. This is very crude example to give you but given your generalisation, you'd probably understand what I'm trying to say here- India has the 3rd largest number of billionaires in the world .

Honestly, I don't want to sound racist or anything, but how exactly are they expecting any kind of customers from a country like India? I understand China, it is a country with a lot of potential in terms of development, but India has no chance whatsoever, because of how late it is in technology. Besides, there are many other countries which would need an Apple Store more, and many others which have some but only a few of them, so I don't understand this decision other than a "One billion people in a country means lots of customers" logic.

You are no racist, calling you racist is insulting all racists. You are hopelessly ignorant. It is quite possible that each of the top 20% richest Indians make more than all your family will ever make in two consecutive eternities. That's what Apple is targeting. And trust me they are a sizeable number

Honestly, I don't want to sound racist or anything, but how exactly are they expecting any kind of customers from a country like India? I understand China, it is a country with a lot of potential in terms of development, but India has no chance whatsoever, because of how late it is in technology. Besides, there are many other countries which would need an Apple Store more, and many others which have some but only a few of them, so I don't understand this decision other than a "One billion people in a country means lots of customers" logic.

Oh boy you are about to get flamed for this. So you are saying that not even 10-20% of the 1Billion indian people can afford even an iPhone SE? Thats about 100-200 million which is more than one-third of the US market and bigger than a lot of markets Apple is currently in.

Also investment isn't about today, its about foreseeing 6 months to 10 years from now. India has as an unrivalled youth demographic, with FIFTY PERCENT (50%) under the age of TWENT-FIVE (25), and SIXTY-FIVE PERCENT (65%) under the age of THIRTY-FIVE (35)? Do you have any idea how big of an opportunity that is? At the same time, the middle class in both India and China is growing exponentially.

On the other hand, the current EU is in dire state, with an aging population, and the US is not that much better of. Not to mention, the US & EU markets are both saturated as can be seen by the first-ever drop in iPhone sales YOY.

The opportunity lies in the future, not the present!

Honestly, I don't want to sound racist or anything, but how exactly are they expecting any kind of customers from a country like India? I understand China, it is a country with a lot of potential in terms of development, but India has no chance whatsoever, because of how late it is in technology. Besides, there are many other countries which would need an Apple Store more, and many others which have some but only a few of them, so I don't understand this decision other than a "One billion people in a country means lots of customers" logic.

The same country where Apple sales grew 56% YoY - even as Samsung's market share fell from 66% in Q1 2015 to 41% in Q1 2016. All this when Apple has no official presence in India, no retail stores, no service centres, no Apple Care, and Apple products are sold at much much higher rates by resellers.

Considering the large population in India, it'd be a bit naive to think that all of them live in the ghetto and can't afford an iPhone or MacBook. I understand that they may not be the most prosperous country, but come on now... It's not like they're introducing the product to India for the first time. They're just selling it to them directly without having a third party retailer cutting in on the profits.