India's first Apple Store all set to open in Mumbai
The long wait for Indian fans to shop at the company's fully-owned Apple Store will soon be over in a few days.
Apple on Wednesday (April 5) offered a glimpse of the Apple Store all set for opening at Jio World Drive Mall, Mumbai.
The company is well known for its attention to detail in designing things, be it a product or retail stores, which we have seen around the world. Almost all Apple Stores globally take inspiration from local culture and portray them beautifully both in terms of exteriors and interior decor. It's no wonder, almost all Apple retail stores have garnered iconic landmark status.
To name a few, Apple Tower Theatre, Los Angeles (US), Apple Fifth Avenue, New York (US), Regent Street Store, London (UK), Apple Marina Bay Sands (Singapore), Apple Opéra Store, Paris (France) and Apple Central World, Bangkok (Thailand), among many other around the world have become famous tourist spots.
Here too, the iconic Kaali Peeli taxi art unique to Mumbai is infused in the company's first-ever retail store in India. To mark the launch, the official company website is offering Apple Store-inspired wallpapers, and even on Apple Music, there are well-curated playlist--Apple BKC.
Though there is the official word on when the store will open, speculations are rife that Apple is expected to open another one in Delhi really soon.
Apple Store has been long due in India, but local policy (30 per cent sourcing commitment) constraints and Covid-19 outbreak-induced lockdown delayed the launch. The direct foreign investment policy was tweaked in late 2019 to enable technology companies to open fully-owned brand stores.
Over the last few years, Apple has doubled down on its efforts by signing several partner agreements with Foxconn, Wistron, Pegatron, and others to assemble products locally in India.
Currently, contractors are producing high-end mobile phones and soon, they are expected to make Watches, iPads, and other accessories here in India.
Apple already operates an official online store and does quite a good job in marketing products with festival offers and back-to-school programmes with lucrative discounts.
In 2022, though Apple saw a decline in product shipments globally, it registered record quarterly revenue and maintained double-digit growth Year-over-Year.
Apple leads the premium (Rs 30,000 plus) and ultra-premium (Rs 45,000 plus range) smartphone segments in India. The iPhone 13 was the top-selling model in 2022 in the overall Indian smartphone market and this helped Apple witness strong 16 per cent YoY growth. And, Apple topped the market in terms of shipment value in Q4 2022, Counterpoint reported.
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