A view of India’s first Apple-owned store to open on the Jio World Drive mall in the Bandra Kurla (BKC) complex in Mumbai.
Ashish Vaisnav | Sopa Images | Light Rocket | Getty’s paintings
Apple is ready to open its first physical stores in India next week, highlighting the country’s importance to the long run of the US tech company in iPhone sales and manufacturing,
The Cupertino giant will open a store in Mumbai on April 18 and in the Indian capital Delhi on April 20.
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Apple CEO Tim Cook May Go to India to Open Stores Bloomberg he said, citing people conversant in the matter. The move underscores his bullish approach to the world’s fifth-largest economy.
Cook’s visit, nearly 7 years after his inaugural trip to India, comes as Apple looks to extend its retail sales and native manufacturing operations.
Apple is strengthening its presence in the Indian market, which has been dominated by low-end and mid-range smartphones from firms resembling Samsung and Xiaomi. iPhone shipments were up 16% year-on-year in 2022, with Apple being the primary player in the premium segment of the market, i.e. phones over $365, based on Counterpoint Research. While only now trying to open its first physical retail location in India, the corporate has a web-based store there as of 2020.
“I’m very optimistic about India,” Cook said during a February speak about Apple’s December quarter results, when the tech giant posted record iPhone revenue in India while the variety of regional iPhone users rose to “double digits.” “
Apple “puts a big amount of energy” into India, Cook stressed on the time.
Retail is only one step. By way of production, Apple began assembling its flagship iPhone 14 in India last 12 months – the first time the corporate has produced its latest device in the country so near its initial launch. Piyush Goyal, India’s trade and industry minister, said in January that Apple intends to fabricate 25% of all its iPhones in India.
The manufacturing push in India comes as Apple looks to scale back its reliance on China, where it currently produces most of its iPhones. Weaknesses in China were exposed last 12 months, after production was disrupted by the COVID-19 outbreak and employee protests on the world’s largest iPhone factory in Zhengzhou, China, which is run by Taiwanese company Foxconn.