HCL Infosystems has officially announced that the company would begin distributing Apple products in the Indian market including the iconic iPhone.
HCL Infosystems’ Shiv Nadar said in a BSE filing, “We wish to inform that the Distributor Agreement for distribution of iPhone and other Apple products has been signed with M/s Apple India Private Limited (M/s Apple), a confirmation of which is received by the Company from M/s Apple today.”
So, the long suspense over reports of HCL Infosystems being in discussions with Apple has finally come to an end. Back in July, the company was in talks with the US based tech giant to distribute their products in India, the confirmation of which was received on Monday. An NDA was signed between the companies on December 23rd, 2016 where HCL had expressed interest in taking up distribution of Apple products in India.
How will this help Apple?
In the distribution space, HCL has always been an active player and has previously worked with companies like Lenovo, Nokia and Motorola among others. The partnership will be beneficial to Apple as well since they have been planning to improve their presence more and more in Indian cities.
By the end of the year, the number of smartphone users in India is expected to reach 340 million, and currently, Apple has merely 3% of the market share by volume and 11% share by value in the country.
Apple is ardent to change this with their eyes firmly set on the aspirational youth of the country. They plan to create a new iOS user base in the middle segment that will eventually shift to their premium models.
At present Apple has distribution ties with companies like Ingram Micro, Rashi Peripherals, Redington and Beetle Teletech India.
