Apple’s two India-based company-owned outlets each reported revenue of approximately INR 200 Cr in the fiscal year ended March 31, 2024, emerging as the top-performing retail outlets of the iPhone maker globally. This translates to approximately usd 50 million of retail sales for the year through just these 2 stores, or roughly usd 2 million per outlet per month. That’s a fantastic start.
iPhones pushed over 35% surge in India’s mobile phone exports to a record $15 Bn in FY24.
As per the government data, Apple accounted for 65% or about $10 Bn of mobile phone exports from the country during the year in review, which is double the $5 Bn worth exports noted in the previous fiscal year.
As per a Bloomberg report, Apple now manufactures around 14% of its flagship devices in India, which translates to about 1 in 7 iPhones.
We all know that technological innovations have the power to hugely influence global economics and trends, but we must also realize how quickly their returns diminish.
A little over a hundred years ago, when the internal combustion engine (ICE) arrived, it truly transformed the world of transportation. In a little over 50 years time, since the advent of the ICE engine, the automobile started becoming a kind of commodity. Then, different countries started getting into the act of manufacturing and competing mainly on features and costs.
Roughly, about 50 years ago started the advent of the microchip. A lot of devices and products flowed from microchips. Computers, mobile phones, other smart devices, even appliances. Now, with each passing year, the world does realize that these have already transformed our lives. Have these too become commodities with a few extra frills and features being added into new products each year? One indicator could be when one begins to see production shifting to countries which can make it cheaper.
Technology, at a generic level, is now very much a part of our existence. This progression – disruption, maturity, decline – has played out in many industries from railroads to electricity to microchips. Once revolutionary, each has moved on to become a commodity, no longer the source of a tenfold return on investment. And the speed with which commoditization is happening is scary. Take for instance, EVs. Even before initial investment costs have been recovered, sales have temporarily stagnated and more than two dozen global companies could be on the verge of declaring bankruptcy.
The computer industry is already feeling the heat, at least as of now. So, flying cars, personal jetpacks, augmented reality, metaverse, space-age travel, AI, what will be the next major driver of growth over the next few decades?
Make no mistake. There is still a lot of money to be made in current technology, a lot of improvement in processes and manufacturing, and the smartphone, as of now, looks to be a device which will keep getting replaced by another smartphone. For some more years.
One area which has huge potential is not just using technology to tackle climate change issues, but to work more diligently on creating technology to truly help sustainability. Sustainability can no longer be looked at as just a cool buzzword to be thrown around in boardrooms or social gatherings, but an environmental, economic and social driver that’s changing our day-to-day lives in almost every way imaginable.
Committing to sustainable practices is no longer a “nice to have” but a “must do” as the negative impacts of climate change become more obvious and ominous, with the potential to alter everything from supply chains to profitability. There was a time when many of our generation felt that we could have a clean exit from this world and just kick the can down the road to the next generation. No such luck.
Although it’s not a panacea, technology has the power to increase productivity, efficiency and cost savings, reduce product waste, chemicals and resources and measure, analyze and track progress, all of which can help minimize the impact on the environment. We can’t exist without buildings and infrastructure, yet according to research results from the World Green Building Council, buildings account for 39 percent of global carbon emissions. The majority — 28% — is caused by operational carbon, which results from operating a building once it’s built and includes things like heating, cooling and lighting.
Agriculture and transportation are other major problem areas.
The key question is whether the technology industry which is manufacturing technology products for daily use is doing enough in the direction of sustainability. When geo-political alignments are changing, when manufacturing of technology products is shifting, we do hope that companies, in their desire to keep the pace going, also ensure that newer manufacturing bases and newer products conform to the highest possible levels of sustainability.
Since one has had decades of experience dealing with the Japanese, the Koreans and the Chinese, a Korean proverb comes to mind – “One must slow down in life precisely when one has to reach faster”.
For the sake of our planet and its sustainability, technology and its creators owe it to themselves and to each of us. The technology cycle, if disruptive and successful in the area of sustainability, may never see a decline. India and the UAE could be potential co-creators in this success.
(This article is written by NIRANJAN GIDWANI, CONSULTANT DIRECTOR | MEMBER UAE SUPERBRANDS COUNCIL | CHARTER MEMBER TIE DUBAI | HBR ADVISORY COUNCIL, and the views expressed in this article are his own)
