In a shocking development, Apple India Sales Head Sanjay Kaul has stepped down with immediate effect. Apple has now appointed Michel Coulomb as the new India Sales Head.
Kaul’s resignation comes at a time when Apple is trying hard to ramp up its revenue numbers in India, which is currently dominated by Google’s Android and other Chinese players such as Xiaomi, Vivo and Oppo, etc.
And while Apple expanded its distributors and is opening more Apple stores in the country, the growth trajectory in India has been slow. According to regulatory filings, Apple’s India revenues grew 17 per cent to Rs 11,619 crore in the financial year 2017.
Coulomb has been associated with Apple for over 15 years and according to his LinkedIn profile, he has earlier led Cupertino-based iPhone manufacturer’s operations in the Middle East, Turkey, and Africa before moving into Singapore last year as chief of South Asia.
Moving forward Coulomb will be tasked to increase sales in India.
Apple has around three per cent share in volumes in India’s smartphone market. The company is even assembling cheap iPhone SE in India to compete with the Chinese players that offer more or less the same features at low prices.
Post iPhone X launch, Apple has been under pressure as supply issues hampered its sales in India.
Last month, Apple announced revenues from India doubled on year in the September quarter, which can be attributed to higher iPhone sales via Flipkart, Amazon and Paytm.
According to Counterpoint Research, Apple’s revenues grew by 142 per cent year-on-year during the quarter that ended September.
