Apple’s first store in India: Why is it a big deal?

India finally has its first Apple Store. The technology giant opened its flagship retail store at Jio World Centre in Mumbai’s Bandra Kurla Complex (BKC) today (18 April).

The company’s chief executive Tim Cook, who is in Mumbai, opened the doors to the 28,000-square-foot store amid cheers from staff and hundreds of fans waiting to explore the country’s first Apple Store.

Soon after the inauguration, the Apple CEO tweeted: “The energy, creativity, and passion in Mumbai is incredible! We are so excited to open Apple BKC – our first store in India”.

The energy, creativity, and passion in Mumbai is incredible! We are so excited to open Apple BKC — our first store in India. pic.twitter.com/talx2ZQEMl

— Tim Cook (@tim_cook) April 18, 2023

The second Apple Store will be launched in New Delhi’s Saket on Thursday (20 April).

Let’s take a look at Apple’s first retail store in India, the company’s journey in India and why the launch is significant.

Apple Store in Mumbai

India has joined the list of 26 nations, including the United States, the United Kingdom, France, South Korea, Germany, China and the United Arab Emirates (UAE), that house Apple Stores.

There are more than 500 such stores around the world that act as a one-stop destination for the company’s myriad products and services.

Consumers can now walk in, explore and buy Apple products directly from these stores.

According to an Indian Express report, Apple Stores focuses more on providing a unique experience than the actual sale of products.

Apple Stores operate on the concept of a town square, where people come together, interact, learn about the products and clear their doubts.

These stores also have Today At Apple sessions with experts which help consumers get acquainted with the iPhone maker’s latest products and services.

According to a TechPP report, Apple Inc will hold Today At Apple sessions titled Mumbai Rising throughout the summer. Under this, local artists and creators will come together to celebrate the local community and culture, the report added.

The other defining feature of Apple Stores is Genius Bar which offers technical support to consumers for all its products and services.

These trained Apple Geniuses help users in making the purchase decisions and troubleshoot problems with the devices.

The staff at Apple Stores are also equipped with mobile point of sale (mPOS) that accelerate sales and prevent long queues.

Apple in India

Apple is marking 25 years in India this year, with the launch of its first retail stores and boosting its manufacturing base.

The California-based company has been trying to open its flagship retail store for years but regulatory hurdles and the COVID-19 pandemic delayed its plans, according to Associated Press (AP).

Apple has been selling its product in India through e-commerce websites such as Amazon.com Inc and Walmart Inc’s Flipkart and stores run by Indian partners – Imagine and Future World. It also opened its online store in the country in 2020.

The company is heavily reliant on developers in the country for its App Store, as per a Hindustan Times (HT) report.

In India, Apple says it supports over a million developer jobs, while the App Store payouts to developers have hiked over three times since 2018.

Since 2017, the iOS App Design and Development Accelerator in Karnataka’s Bengaluru has held sessions for more than 15,000 developers in the country, reported HT.

Apple has a long way to go before it dominates India’s smartphone market. Currently, the iPhone manufacturer occupies a mere 3 per cent market share in India, according to Reuters.

However, the sale of iPhones are increasing in the country. According to a Bloomberg report, Apple’s total sales in India jumped around 50 per cent from previous financial year to reach almost $6 billion in the financial year ending March 2023.

Apple first started manufacturing in India in 2017 and has since assembled a number of iPhone models in the country through Taiwanese contract electronics manufacturers Foxconn and Wistron Corp.

Bloomberg reported that the tech giant tripled its iPhone manufacturing in India in the last financial year, producing over $7 billion worth of smartphones.

The report said citing sources that 7 per cent of the iPhones are now made in India through suppliers including Foxconn.

According to Counterpoint data, Apple has a 65 per cent share of the “premium” smartphone market (prices above Rs 30,000) in India.

As per Reuters, Apple also intends to assemble iPads and AirPods in India.

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Why is Tim Cook banking on India?

Ahead of the Apple Store launch in Mumbai, Cook said in a statement earlier: “At Apple, our mission is to enrich lives and empower people around the world. 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”.

#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

Experts say that Apple banking on the world’s second-largest smartphone market is “logical” amid its sales being hit globally.

Apple’s worldwide revenue declined 5 per cent to $117.2 billion in the quarter ending December 2022, as per The National News. 

“India has a large and growing middle class, which is a key demographic for Apple’s product,” Akshay Hegde, co-founder of Indian e-commerce company ShakeDeal, told The National News.

“While there are challenges to operating in India, the potential rewards are significant.”

Apple, which assembles most of its products in China, is also seeking a shift by expanding its manufacturing footprint in India, especially after Beijing’s strict zero-COVID policy and rising tensions between the Asian giant and the United States.

China accounts for 90 per cent of the global production of iPhones, whereas, India manufactures only 6 per cent presently.

“Big companies got a jolt, they realized they needed a backup strategy outside of China — they couldn’t risk another lockdown or any geopolitical rift affecting their business,” Jayanth Kolla, an analyst at Convergence Catalyst, a tech consultancy, was quoted as saying by AP.

“Apple’s retail stores in India also speak to a two-sided ‘China plus one’ strategy for the company: it has already begun moving some of its manufacturing to India to reduce its single-country sourcing reliance,” Utkarsh Sinha, managing director of Bexley Advisors, a boutique investment bank in Mumbai, told The National News.

“India is equally critical for them [Apple] as a market, to offset their reliance on China as a large but turbulent international market.”

Kolla also said the new stores are a “clear signal of the company’s commitment to invest in India”.

The flagship Apple Stores show “how much India matters to the present and the future of the company”, he told AP.

India, which has surpassed China’s population to become the world’s most populous nation, provides a potential market for Apple to grow.

Around 600 million of India’s total 1.426 billion people have smartphones, “which means the market is still under-penetrated and the growth prospect is huge,”Neil Shah, vice president of research at technology market research firm Counterpoint Research, told AP.

With inputs from agencies

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