MUMBAI: Apple Chief Executive Officer Tim Cook formally inaugurated the first retail store of the largest technology company in Mumbai.
Videos showed Cook opening the store’s doors and waving to customers as employees cheered and clapped. He also greeted customers visiting the store and took selfies with some of them. On Thursday, Cook will also be present at the opening of a second store in Delhi, the nation’s capital.
Reports claim that people from nationwide came to Mumbai to participate in the opening event, featuring local music and folk dance performances.
The Mumbai store’s design- located in an upscale neighbourhood – has been inspired by the ubiquitous black-and-yellow taxis in the city. Until now, Apple products have been available online or through a vast network of resellers in India.
The new stores come when Apple tries to strengthen its retail push in India, the world’s second-largest smartphone market. In the price-sensitive Indian market, over 95% of cell phones use Google’s Android operating system; the iPhone remains aspirational.
As Apple diversifies its supply chains away from China, India is likewise becoming a more critical manufacturing hub for the iPhone. Today, 5% of all iPhones are produced in India. Although the stores are a crucial component of Apple’s branding strategy, experts claim they won’t instantly affect its sales in India.
Others have noted that now is a good time for Apple to invest in India’s expanding “premium smartphone” market, defined as smartphones that cost 40,000 rupees (£451; $558) or more.
Technology analyst Navkendar Singh told the BBC, “When you launch an Apple store, you’re giving a premium experience to your consumers. It might not increase sales, but it pulls more people into the Apple ecosystem.”
Long-term attempts by Apple to establish physical stores in India have failed. Due to the Covid-19 epidemic, it had to abandon its initial plans for 2021. This is Cook’s first visit to India in seven years; the last time he was here, the tech giant’s activities there were starting to expand, was in 2016.
On Monday, he posted a photo of himself eating vada pav, a typical Indian food, with Madhuri Dixit. Deputy IT Minister Rajeev Chandrasekhar and Prime Minister Narendra Modi are reportedly set to meet with Mr Cook during his visit. The office of Modi did not make any official statements on this.
