Apple is slowly making its presence known in the Indian smartphone market after it was able to increase its user base. However, new reports suggest that the Cupertino tech giant may be delayed a second time in opening its first exclusive store.
According to a report by The Economic Times (behind paywall), Apple has delayed the launch of its first offline store until late March 2023. As a repercussion of the Covid-19 pandemic, many of the interior decor and other supplies required for the construction are behind schedule for their delivery.
Apple’s first store is slated to open in Mumbai at Jio World Centre. It is also rumoured to be designed on par with the company’s flagship stores in Singapore and Los Angeles. The company also has plans to open its second store in Delhi’s Select Citywalk Mall. It’s unclear as of now if the plans have been postponed for this store as well.
The company has been expanding its operations in India at a gradual pace. Apple will be completing 2 years since it launched the official online store in India. The company also began the trade-in program for iPhones too a few months later. Separate reports indicate that the company has seen an increased demand for MacBooks and Macs in the country.
Are the stars in favour of Apple in India?
Industry big names like Samsung have been operating and manufacturing their products in India longer than Apple. However, the company has expanded its vision of diversifying the production of some of its products to regions outside of China.
With multiple lockdowns announced in its factories, this impacted the production and supply of some of the products. So while India was already manufacturing the iPhone SE and the iPhone 13, Apple is expected to bring the iPad too.
It may be a while for the company to set up its complete operations. But once the prices of its devices come to a more competitive range in the market, that would be when Apple hits the jackpot. Currently, the iPhone models are being manufactured by Foxconn and while Wistron is in charge of the production of iPads.
