Apple is opening its first-ever retail stores in India this week, and the hoopla – and the hot takes – are stacking up.
The Cupertino, Calif. technology giant is opening its first India store in Mumbai on April 18. Its second retail outlet in Delhi is scheduled to open its doors on April 20.
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The fanfare level is high, with Apple CEO Tim Cook slated to be on-site for the Mumbai store opening, according to India Today. The new stores are expected to feature the company’s high-profile iPhone 14 Pro and iPhone 14 l smartphones at the front of the store. Special store sections are reserved for the company’s HomePod and Apple TV product lines.
The new outlets are powered solely by solar power and will be staffed by about 100 employees who combined speak 20 languages, India Today noted.
The Mumbai location changes the game for Apple in the Far East. Cook has long indicated he wants to set up a retail presence in India, noting “I don’t want anyone else running the brand for us.”
Additionally, government officials believe Apple will be fully committed to its ongoing India operations.
In January, a government insider said Apple was looking to grow its manufacturing output in the country.
"Apple (is) another success story," Piyush Goyal said at a conference in New Delhi on Jan. 23. "They are already at about 5-7% of their manufacturing in India. If I am not mistaken, they are targeting to go up to 25% of their manufacturing. They launched the most recent models from India, manufactured in India."
Analysts say the twin retail rollouts in Mumbai and Delhi are part of a larger effort by Apple to focus more on India, the world’s Fifth-Largest Economy.
According to a recent research note from Wedbush Securities analyst Daniel Ives, the new store openings indicate a “significant strategic move” for Apple.
"Apple is now aggressively looking at India from both a production and retail expansion over the coming years," Ives noted. The company should see annual revenue rise from $6 billion to $20 billion by 2025, Ives stated.
