At the just-concluded 2020 Apple Annual Shareholders meeting, Tim Cook confirmed that Apple is looking to inaugurate its first retail store in India by 2021, while the online store is set to go live by the end of this year.
Apple has been looking to set up shop in India for quite some time now. In October 2019, it got the green light for the first company-owned company-operated Apple store in Bandra Kurla Complex (BKC), Mumbai, India.
Apple will open its first retail store in India next year. Tim Cook says Apple has been working on this for years but needed approval b/c the government wanted it to work with a partner. “We wouldn’t be a very good partner in retail. We like to do things our way.”February 26, 2020
Tim Cook also revealed that Apple has been in talks with the Government of India, but as the latter wanted the company to get into retail with a partnership, it has taken a bit longer to get everything in shape.
As reported previously, Apple has leased around 25,000 square feet in Maker Maxity mall in BKC for its three-storeyed flagship store, which is said to be at par with the company's stores in Hong Kong. Each of the three floors will serve a different purpose and will be dedicated to the experience and service center along with a retail store.
Currently, Apple's biggest store in India is franchise-run and serves as a Reseller store, situated in High Street Phoenix, Mumbai. As to why Apple should double down its efforts in India, the answer is clear. As per IDC, Apple is the numero uno player in the premium smartphone segment range of India and dominated the market with a 75.6% share in Q4 2019.
The two products that should be appreciated for Apple's rise in 2019 are the iPhone 11 and iPhone XR, which were best-selling phones by the company last year. Apple currently holds a 2% share when the entire premium segment accounts for 2.7% of the Indian smartphone market.
