Apple to Open First Apple Stores in India Within 18 Months

Honestly, I don't want to sound racist or anything, but how exactly are they expecting any kind of customers from a country like India? I understand China, it is a country with a lot of potential in terms of development, but India has no chance whatsoever, because of how late it is in technology. Besides, there are many other countries which would need an Apple Store more, and many others which have some but only a few of them, so I don't understand this decision other than a "One billion people in a country means lots of customers" logic.

I don't think you are racist, just ill informed. Do a quick web search as a start.

Honestly, I don't want to sound racist or anything, but how exactly are they expecting any kind of customers from a country like India? I understand China, it is a country with a lot of potential in terms of development, but India has no chance whatsoever, because of how late it is in technology. Besides, there are many other countries which would need an Apple Store more, and many others which have some but only a few of them, so I don't understand this decision other than a "One billion people in a country means lots of customers" logic.

I'm not sure what sort of picture you've painted in your head about India, but in a country with a population of a billion plus individuals, the ratio of people who can afford Apple products can be compared to that of developed nations. This is very crude example to give you but given your generalisation, you'd probably understand what I'm trying to say here- India has the 3rd largest number of billionaires in the world .

Honestly, I don't want to sound racist or anything, but how exactly are they expecting any kind of customers from a country like India? I understand China, it is a country with a lot of potential in terms of development, but India has no chance whatsoever, because of how late it is in technology. Besides, there are many other countries which would need an Apple Store more, and many others which have some but only a few of them, so I don't understand this decision other than a "One billion people in a country means lots of customers" logic.

You are no racist, calling you racist is insulting all racists. You are hopelessly ignorant. It is quite possible that each of the top 20% richest Indians make more than all your family will ever make in two consecutive eternities. That's what Apple is targeting. And trust me they are a sizeable number

Honestly, I don't want to sound racist or anything, but how exactly are they expecting any kind of customers from a country like India? I understand China, it is a country with a lot of potential in terms of development, but India has no chance whatsoever, because of how late it is in technology. Besides, there are many other countries which would need an Apple Store more, and many others which have some but only a few of them, so I don't understand this decision other than a "One billion people in a country means lots of customers" logic.

The same country where Apple sales grew 56% YoY - even as Samsung's market share fell from 66% in Q1 2015 to 41% in Q1 2016. All this when Apple has no official presence in India, no retail stores, no service centres, no Apple Care, and Apple products are sold at much much higher rates by resellers.

Honestly, I don't want to sound racist or anything, but how exactly are they expecting any kind of customers from a country like India? I understand China, it is a country with a lot of potential in terms of development, but India has no chance whatsoever, because of how late it is in technology. Besides, there are many other countries which would need an Apple Store more, and many others which have some but only a few of them, so I don't understand this decision other than a "One billion people in a country means lots of customers" logic.

You do realize that even in the poorest nations, there will be rich people? There are millions of people who could afford iPhone range prices for their phones even as there are hundreds of millions more who have to do with lower priced phones. And there is the development potential. You said that you "understand China," but do you? Up until recent decades, India was probably more industrialized than China, with what the British left behind in the colonial era. Just because India looks rather behind at the moment doesn't mean that it will be the case some years from now. Also, there is the fact that people in developing nations tend to buy more expensive phones (relative to their income), since in some people's cases it's the only affordable (compared to houses/cars) luxury they can afford.

Considering the large population in India, it'd be a bit naive to think that all of them live in the ghetto and can't afford an iPhone or MacBook. I understand that they may not be the most prosperous country, but come on now... It's not like they're introducing the product to India for the first time. They're just selling it to them directly without having a third party retailer cutting in on the profits.