For the first time in India, two stores of tech company Apple are going to open. The company’s first flagship retail store will open in Mumbai on April 18 and the second in Delhi on April 20. The Mumbai store will be opened at Reliance Industries Chairman Mukesh Ambani’s Jio World Drive Mall. This mall is located in Bandra Kurla Complex, Mumbai. And the second store will open in Saket, Delhi. Apple CEO Tim Cook may visit India for store opening.

The barricade for Apple Saket was unveiled this morning. It has a unique design which is inspired by many gates of Delhi. The Mumbai outlet’s design is inspired by the city’s iconic ‘Kaali-Peeli’ taxis. It will be spread over 3 floors in an area of ​​more than 20,000 sq. Its monthly rent is Rs 42 lakh.

The company has deposited six months’ rent of Rs 2.52 crore as security deposit. It will be increased by 15% every 3 years. In these stores, many products and services of the company will be available on a single platform. Customers will be able to exchange their Apple devices in the store. They will also get the option of ‘Genius Bar’. Expert service and support is provided in this.

Tim Cook announced the store in 2020
The launch of Apple Stores in India has been delayed due to the COVID-19 pandemic. During Apple’s Annual Shareholders Meeting in 2020, CEO Tim Cook said that he does not want ‘someone else to run the brand for us’ in India. But Apple’s plan to open stores in 2021 was derailed due to the pandemic.

In 2020, Apple’s CEO had announced to open its store in India, but it got postponed due to the Corona epidemic.

Famous for providing excellent customer experience
For years, Apple’s retail partners have been running third-party stores in Indian cities big and small, but they have not been able to provide the same experience as found on New York’s 5th Avenue, London’s Regent Street or Singapore’s Marina Bay. Apple’s stores are some of the most successful retail outlets in the world and are extremely profitable.

Apple co-founder Steve Jobs opened the first Apple Store in Virginia in 2001. Many people had predicted their failure then, but the company’s strategy of opening stores was extremely successful. Apple now has more than 500 retail stores, most of them in the US, followed by China.

Cook can come to India for store opening
Tim Cook came to India in the year 2016. Now after 7 years he is planning to come to India. Cook is also expected to call on Prime Minister Narendra Modi during his visit. The Indian government is pushing electronics manufacturing and has offered billions of dollars in incentives to attract Apple’s manufacturing partners such as Foxconn Technology Group and Pegatron Corp.

No-entry of 22 brands near Apple Store
According to a report in The Economic Times, 22 competing brands will neither be able to open their stores nor advertise around Apple’s store in Mumbai. This is part of the agreement. These include brands like Amazon, Facebook, Google, LG, Microsoft, Sony.

Apple is part of the PLI scheme of the Government of India.
Apple’s contract manufacturers are part of the Indian government’s Rs 41,000 crore Production-Linked Incentive Scheme (PLI). It is only after this scheme that iPhone manufacturing has picked up in India. In 2020, the Government of India launched the PLI Scheme. Through this scheme, companies from outside countries get an opportunity to take advantage of local manufacturing, as well as earn incentives on it.

After geopolitical tension and Corona epidemic, Apple has increased manufacturing in India, reducing its dependence on China.

iPhones being made in India since 2017
Apple started manufacturing iPhones in India in 2017 with the iPhone SE. It has three Electronics Manufacturing Services (EMS) partners – Foxconn, Wistron and Pegatron. After iPhone SE, manufacturing of iPhone 11, iPhone 12, iPhone 13 and iPhone 14 was also done in India. Foxconn’s plant is in Sriperumbudur near Chennai.

Story of iPhone reaching from factory to store

A project was underway in a building in Cupertino City, California. Its name was ‘Project Purple’. When people were being hired for this project, a condition was laid that the team would have to work day and night. No member of the team will be allowed to go out of that building. Click here to read the full news…