
The trials and tribulations of doing business in India - boynamedsue
http://www.economist.com/news/business/21699956-trials-and-tribulations-doing-business-india-forbidden-fruit
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sabujp
Bad title, it's just about how Apple can't get a store in India, was expecting
a story of setting up business in India.

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mordant
Agree.

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joe563323
Thanks very much for saving my time.

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anupshinde
While I like Apple products, India is right to deny "dumping" of products that
would be considered e-waste in the sourcing country.

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estsauver
The article quotes the cheapest smartphones in stores as being ~1000 rupees.
That's about ~15 USD at the retail level.

How does one go about sourcing that sort of low end phone? If I could order
100 of almost any smartphone at that price I would be very excited.

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blackoil
Cheapest smartphone start around 4000, while popular price point is 6-10000.
No one sells it for 1000, one company promised it, but never launched.

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xufi
Also, didnt the company Micromax I believe start to gain a big market there? I
haven't followed much on it yet but I know them and a bunch of home grown
brands have started taking over as well

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manu29d
Upon googling "micromax market share", the first article that comes up was
written on March 16th, 2016 [1]. That shows a dwindling market share. Other
articles share same opinion. Although, the company has funded a new
campaign[2] and the new Canvas series of smartphones from them look promising
while maintaining a low price point.

[1]: [http://www.dnaindia.com/money/report-how-did-micromax-
lose-n...](http://www.dnaindia.com/money/report-how-did-micromax-lose-nearly-
half-of-its-market-share-in-one-year-2188696) [2]:
[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c62z2bIZfC0](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c62z2bIZfC0)

PS: Apart from a handful of friends who own Micromax phones, I have no
interest in the company whatsoever.

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parennoob
Note that this is limited to Apple's direct sales business model (aka selling
phones through its own stores). Apple are free to sell through other retailers
like LG, Xiaomi, and several other retailers do. But they like to have total
and absolute control over all aspects of their products. Unfortunately, in
this case, they have come across someone else who likes to exercise pretty
strong control over aspects of the economy itself.

I think the best thing for Apple to do would be to sell their products through
a partnership with Reliance or another company that has a lot of stores in
India. It's not like they _don 't_ partner with carriers and such in the US.

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dingo_bat
Exactly. Apple is used to having everyone roll-over and let them steamroll
over local laws but that's not gonna happen here. The market is still open,
they are selling products in millions.

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mozumder
Basically you need to bribe everyone to do anything in India.

Not sure if this is something Apple is ready for.

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rajathagasthya
How did you conclude based on this article that you need to bribe everyone to
do anything in India?

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RealGeek
> you need to bribe everyone to do anything in India?

Not everything, but almost everything that has to do with Government. I had to
pay bribe even to get my Passport, driver's license and police clearance
certificate.

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rajathagasthya
Getting a passport/driver's license is different from companies (Apple) asking
to operate in a certain way. They deal with the highest levels in the
government (Prime Minister, Finance Minister) and it is absurd to suggest that
the government would ask Apple to bribe them. India has a set of rules on how
foreign companies should operate and while it might be unpopular, it is still
a rule.

