Apple stores coming to a market near you soon

Once again, Tim Cook reiterated how important India was for Apple and said that they would be opening stores in the country soon.

During an analyst conference call post third quarter result, Apple’s Cook said, "We're looking forward to opening retail stores in India down the road, and we see huge potential for that vibrant country."

After India eased local sourcing norms, the statement from Cook assumes significance.

As per the new norms, foreign single brand retailers can comply with the controversial 30 per cent local sourcing requirements over the first five years of its operations, and not from the first year, as was proposed in the earlier policy.

Meanwhile, Apple has asked the Indian government to elaborate the rules and sought more clarity.

"In the first three quarters of this fiscal year, our iPhone sales in India were up 51% year on year," Cook said.

The third quarter result brought some good news for Apple as it continued to report double digit growth in iPhone sales during the quarter in its key markets which included India along with Japan, Turkey, Brazil, Canada and Sweden.

The company also reported "healthy growth" in revenue a number of markets which included India, Russia, Brazil, Turkey and Canada.

Cook said Apple has just launched a first of its kind design and development accelerator to support Indian developers creating innovative applications for its iPhone and iPad operating system, and opened a new office in Hyderabad to accelerate maps development.