Smartphone sales have fallen 30-35% since demonetisation, pulling down Apple’s growth rate by 50%, retailers said.“There is huge pressure on driving sales numbers, which is why there has been a never-before-seen flurry to launch consumer offers to push iPhone sales – be it bundling, cashback or buyback. The government scrapped high-denomination currency notes in November to combat unaccounted money. About 75% of Apple’s revenue is generated from iPhone sales, of which almost 45% comes in the October-December quarter due to the launch of new handsets and the festive season shopping.One executive said Apple’s focus on manufacturing in India is to push revenue in the country since the company’s lofty plans haven’t been fulfilled. Apple India launched an ambitious ‘Project Everest’ in 2013-14 to sell 10 million iPhones in India by 2016-2017, which remains a far cry. The company has made a fresh pitch to the government to start selling such handsets.

Source: Economic Times February 12, 2017 19:12 UTC