Apple’s CEO Tim Cook is in India to inaugurate the first ever Apple Stores in India. Apple has been present in India for over 25 years but the company never had dedicated stores in the country. The first-ever store was inaugurated by Cook in Mukesh Ambani-owned Jio World Drive Mall located in the Bandra Kurla Complex on April 18 at 11 AM. The second store is scheduled for opening in Saket, Delhi, on April 20.
#WATCH | Apple CEO Tim Cook opens the gates to India's first Apple store at Mumbai's Bandra Kurla Complex pic.twitter.com/MCMzspFrvp
— ANI (@ANI) April 18, 2023
The store opening event was attended by over 5,000 Apple fans. The store features the iconic black-and-yellow cab (kaali-peeli) colour combination-based design that is unique to Mumbai city. Apple has claimed that the BKC store is the most sustainable store the company has introduced so far. It has a dedicated solar array and zero reliance on fossil fuels for store operations making it completely carbon neutral.
Apple CEO @tim_cook welcomes the fans of the US tech giant & first customers at the launch of its first-ever Apple store in India at BKC, Mumbai on April 18. Here's everything you need to know about the store and Apple's plans in India: https://t.co/EUG046ct1J
— Forbes India (@ForbesIndia) April 18, 2023
By @NaandikaT pic.twitter.com/dIWzxZdQMi
In a statement, Tim Cook said, “At Apple, our mission is to enrich lives and empower people around the world. India has such a beautiful culture and incredible energy, and we’re excited to build on our long-standing history — supporting our customers, investing in local communities, and working together to build a better future with innovations that serve humanity.”
Notably, the company has had an iOS App Design and Development Accelerator in Bengaluru since 2017 that has hosted sessions for more than 15,000 developers so far. Apple started manufacturing iPhones in India in 2017. Since then, Apple has not only assembled iPhone models in the country but also produced an array of components.
How Apple Store is different from existing Apple Premium resellers?
Though Apple has been operating in India for over a decade, its presence in the country was limited to selling its products through resellers and online sales. The existing stores where Apple products are available like Aptronix, Unicorn, Inspire, Maple, etc., are Apple-authorised resellers, meaning they procure products from Apple to resell them to the consumers, and are not managed by Apple itself.
However, the Apple BKC store in Mumbai is a dedicated outlet entirely managed and operated by the company itself, providing an altogether different experience to the consumers. Until now, Apple had been content selling its products via resellers and online channels. However, with demand soaring and India registering the fastest growing markets for the Cupertino-based tech company, Apple decided to go ahead and launch its own stores in India. The fact that Apple has significantly invested in India to set up its manufacturing units may have also played a part in the company’s decision to launch exclusive stores.
The Apple BKC store is the first company-operated store in the country, while the second one is slated to be inaugurated in Delhi on April 20. The stores are directly dependent on Cupertino, the headquarters of Apple Inc., and source products directly from the company. Besides, the Apple Store also showcases the entire product lineup with different colours and hardware variants, along with a wide range of accessories to go with respective devices, providing an immersive experience to the consumers and making it easier for them to decide on which products to buy.
Like Apple Stores elsewhere, the one in Mumbai and Delhi will showcase the entire product lineup offered by Apple, including the latest iPhones, iPads, Macs, iMacs, headphones, earphones, covers and cases, keyboards, Watches, and other products, with all the offered colours and variants available up for display. On the other hand, the premium resellers seldom displayed the entire range of Apple products and exhibited only select units in a few colours for the public to decide on their choice of the products.
According to the reports, Apple will be paying a whopping Rs 42 lakhs per month as rent for the BKC store, with a 15 per cent increment every three years. The company will also pay 2 per cent of its total revenue for the first three years.
