Apple is ready to open its first retail location in India as soon as next month. Economic Times reports that the company’s first flagship Apple Store in Mumbai will open in April at the upscale Jio World Drive mall.
Furthermore, the company is also ready to open its second location in Delhi this year.
Two Apple Stores to open in India this year
After Apple began manufacturing iPhone SE 2 and launched its online store in India in 2020, the company’s CEO Tim Cook announced that its first retail store would open in September 2021. However, the breakout of the COVID-19 pandemic in March of that year delayed that plan by a few years.
Previously, Economic Times said that India’s first-ever Apple Store would open in the first quarter of 2023 as pandemic-related issues like interior fitting and delays in shipments of other supplies had pushed it beyond 2022. The publisher also mentioned that the tech giant had begun recruiting employees for its Delhi store as well.
Now, both locations are close to their inauguration in Spring according to two industry executives aware of plans.
“Fitouts are completed for both the stores,” the person said. “In fact, the fitout was completed for the Delhi store ahead of the Mumbai one.”
“But since Mumbai will be the flagship Apple Store in India, it will open first next month. The Delhi one will open soon after,” said the industry executive.
As per the report, the flagship Apple Store at Jio World Centre in Mumbai is a 22,000-square-foot space that is decorated like other flagship Apple Stores in New York, Singapore, and Hong Kong with a wooden interior, high ceilings, large glass windows, and storefronts, Video wall, Forum and more.
According to the publisher, the company plans to open over a dozen retail stores in India to establish its presence and counter the dominance of the local market by Chinese competitors like Xiaomi, Oppo, and Vivo.
In January 2023, 12 listings appeared for Apple Stores on the company’s career page in India However, it was not mentioned which Indian cities or locations the new Apple stores would open in.
