Cook, who is expected to come to the country after seven years to open the stores – first one in Mumbai and second in New Delhi – said Apple will deepen its work in the country as it continues to expand.
“India has such a beautiful culture and an 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,” he said, in comments given to TOI.
Cook said these initiatives are part of Apple’s mission to empower people around the world. For the Apple CEO, visiting India will also come at a time when the company has full-fledged and strong manufacturing operations here, which is also heavily focused on exports.
The company, which has quietly but quickly raced on to take a leading position in Indian premium smartphone market, scored a win in the last fiscal by exporting devices worth around $5.5 billion in 2022-23, nearly half of the estimated $11.2 billion overall smartphone overseas shipments.
Analysts say with Taiwanese manufacturing trio of Foxconn, Wistron and Pegatron already present here, the company has “confidently set up India as a strong, alternate base to China”, when it comes to global production and sourcing.
Sources said on the agenda for Cook will be a meeting with PM Narendra Modi, though this is yet to be officially confirmed, apart from a clutch of top ministers and business heads. He will also have meetings with Apple’s stakeholders, and app developer ecosystem.
“The staff that will be deployed at the stores have already been trained on the products, their aspects and handling, as well as Apple’s company, customer, and service policies,” a source said. However, prices and schemes would be the same for the customers across the Apple stores, or any other franchise partner.
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