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Apple Once Again Delays First Apple Store in India Until Next Year

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Apple has once again delayed the opening of its first physical retail store in India, The Economic Times reports.

apple india
The store was originally planned to open in 2021, but the global health crisis and economic uncertainty forced Apple to delay the opening. Now, Apple has decided to delay the launch until early 2023, with today's report saying the company is aiming for a launch between the January and March timeframe. The store in Mumbai is set to be 22,000 square feet and will be a "landmark" store known for its iconic design.

Apple is also planning a second, smaller store in New Delhi that will measure 10,000-12,000 square feet. Beyond those two stores, Apple is also looking at other possible locations in malls and high-end shopping districts across India with the intent of making retail a large part of its presence in the country.

In 2020 Apple opened its online store in India, offering Indian customers a direct way to purchase products directly from Apple without having to go through an authorized premium reseller. Apple executives have repeatedly stressed the importance of the Indian market. Most notably, Apple began production of the iPhone 13 in the country earlier this year.

Tags: Apple Store, India

Top Rated Comments

Justin Cymbal Avatar
Justin Cymbal
48 months ago
Very exciting to see Apple opening up their first store in India next year

Apple now has over 500 stores worldwide and I’m glad that they continue to expand and build amazing stores in new countries all over the world
Score: 7 Votes (Like | Disagree)
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Nkapple
48 months ago

The average Indian will have to work 724 hours—around 90 days—to afford the iPhone 13, compared to 50 hours for the average US worker. Let’s see how it goes.
The world economy does not work that way. I mean based in average. If the market is huge enough , even a top 5 percent means huge amount of revenue pool. Why should apple miss the fastest or second fastest large economy in the world.
Score: 6 Votes (Like | Disagree)
A
AbhiAchShan
48 months ago
Almost waiting since 2 Years for their Store, I was quite happy when they opened their Online Store in India, now only thing remaining is offline store, which is repeatedly being delayed, I almost planned to visit this Aug, according to some rumours, but :(. Still Excited to look the first Apple Store in India
Score: 4 Votes (Like | Disagree)
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apparatchik
48 months ago
I'm sure both current and mid term growth in India allows for say the top 20-30% of the population to afford Apple products, specially those working in tech and living in big cities. That 20-30% would make for a larger market than the whole of the US. Sure, there might be 70-80% of consumers left out ATM but the numbers are just on a different scale, especially if you count all the tiny markets in Europe where Apple has presence since forever.
Score: 3 Votes (Like | Disagree)
kshitijshah Avatar
kshitijshah
48 months ago
Physical store launch is critical to bringing up service standards in India.
Score: 3 Votes (Like | Disagree)
kshitijshah Avatar
kshitijshah
48 months ago

India has a law that requires manufacturing in country for certain products. Apple was forced to negotiate and open a manufacturing center to be able to sell them in country. I think that has proven to be far more difficult than they thought it should be. I'm sure there are people in Apple management working on an ulcer over dealing with India.
I am sure executives at Apple are paid well enough o navigate these issues. Every major brand has a thriving business in India. Apple doesn't have to navigate any special rules.


I'm concerned that the leader of India is going to push Pakistan too far and once the nukes start flying, it's over.
How is this relevant to the discussion?
Score: 2 Votes (Like | Disagree)
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