The company is all set to open the gates of the India retail store to the public this month…reports Asian Lite News
After years of wait, Apple on Wednesday finally lifted the curtains off its much-awaited own branded retail store in India, as it ramps up plans to boost local manufacturing in a fillip to the Central government’s ‘Make in India’ initiativ
Apple revealed the barricade of its first brick-and-mortar store in India at Jio World Drive Mall in Mumbai, officially marking the upcoming opening of Apple BKC.
Inspired by the iconic ‘Kaali Peeli’ taxi art unique to Mumbai, the Apple BKC creative includes colourful interpretations of the decals combined with many Apple products and services that will be available for our customers to discover.
The creative for the store features a bright welcome to people passing by with the classic Apple greeting, “Hello Mumbai”.
“To celebrate the opening of the new store, visitors can download the new Apple BKC wallpaper and move to the sounds of Mumbai with a specially curated playlist on Apple Music,” said the company.
The company is all set to open the gates of the India retail store to the public this month.
Apple will also possibly launch a retail store in New Delhi at a later date.
The tech giant has set another all-time revenue record for the India market, along with quarterly records in Brazil and India.
Apple CEO Tim Cook said recently that looking at the business in India, “we set a quarterly revenue record and grew very strong double digits year over year and so we feel very good about how we performed”.
“That’s despite the headwinds that we talked about. India is a hugely exciting market for us and a major focus. We broughtAthe online store there in 2020. We will soon bring Apple Retail there,” Cook had announced in February.
He said that Apple actually did fairly well through Covid in India.
“That’s the reason why we are investing there by bringing retail there, bringing the online store there and putting out a significant amount of energy there. I’m very bullish on India,” the CEO added..
The India market share of iPhones reached 5.5 per cent for 2022, an 11 per cent growth (year-on-year).
Meanwhile, Apples own brick-and-mortar store in India will further strengthen the overall experience of being in an Apple ecosystem for its fans in the country, experts said on Wednesday.
With its own branded retail store — the first one being opened in Mumbai this month — Apple will be able to control end-to-end user experience which will further take its brand image to another level.
“We have seen many stories around the world about consumers sharing positive purchase experiences from the Apple branded stores and India will be no different,” Counterpoint Research Director Tarun Pathak told IANS.
Apple has finally lifted the curtains off its much-awaited own branded retail store at Jio World Drive Mall in Mumbai, officially marking the upcoming opening of Apple BKC.
According to Counterpoint data, Mumbai contributed 10 per cent of iPhone sales and the second largest for Apple, after Delhi, in 2022.
Over the past couple of years, Apple’s India strategy has been coming along well, including increased domestic manufacturing, aggressive marketing and affordability initiatives, and the success of the Apple India Online store.
“Offline retail continues to be critical for all consumer tech companies in a large, diverse market like India. Indian Consumers love to touch, feel and explore the products, before making their purchase considerations,” Prabhu Ram, Head, Industry Intelligence Group, CMR, told IANS.
Interestingly, the premium smartphone segment in India has been growing in double digits.
“The Apple-owned flagship retail stores come with favorable tailwinds, and are a critical lynchpin in Apple’s bid to win the India market. Apple’s retail stores globally set a standard in terms of consumer experience, staff knowledge and expertise, and the service standards, beyond products,” Ram noted.
Apple will launch a retail store in New Delhi at a later date.
Apple sold 2 million iPhones in India in the holiday quarter (Q4) of 2022, registering 18 per cent growth (quarter-on-quarter) for its flagship device.
The India market share of iPhones reached 5.5 per cent for 2022, an 11 per cent growth (year-on-year
ALSO READ: India auto industry to log tapered growth in FY24
