Reliance Retail, one of computing giant Apple’s premium resellers in India, is giving 15 stores operated under its retailing venture iStore, a makeover to conform to Apple’s new retailing norms.
Reliance Retail currently operates 19 iStores which offer a range of Apple products and accessories. In addition, the iStores offer services and workshops around all Apple products. Sources said on Thursday that a majority of the iStores would be modified to match Apple’s norms relating to product display and floor size.
“The norms prescribed by Apple for iStores in India include the size of the store and the general layout. The ceiling heights will also have to be modified, besides adding more LED lighting within the stores and altering the furniture and fixtures as necessary under the Apple norms,” a source said, the alterations would be carried out “over a period of time”.
The source noted that the stores did not strictly adhere to the international norms which Apple is keen that its retailing ventures should meet. The possibility of the iStores which are to be modified being converted into Digital Xpress stores, is also high, sources said.
They indicated that Apple’s other premium resellers in India like Redington and New Delhi-based RSG Infotech are likely to modify their exclusive stores as well to meet Apple’s retailing and display norms.
Reliance Retail currently operates over 30 Digital Xpress stores, besides over 150 Reliance Digital stores which sell technology products and accessories from Apple as well as inhouse electronics brands and white goods from the Reliance stable.
Apple’s standardized display model throughout the world for its stores has emphasized the display of its bestselling iMacs and laptops at the entry point of every store, followed by the popular iPhones and iPad tablet computers.
The company is also understood to be launching its new iPad Air in the Indian market on Saturday. However, full-fledged supplies of the product may reach exclusive stores in India only next week.
Since 2010 when the iPhone 4 was launched, Apple’s exclusive stores in India have in general witnessed iPhones, iPads and iPods grabbing an increasing share of the sales cake with Macs rapidly losing market share to cheaper rivals like Hewlett-Packard and Dell.
