Tech giant Apple is set to open its first official retail store in India soon. Apple BKC, located in Mumbai’s Bandra Kurla Complex, will be a flagship store for the company and will span an area of over 2,000 square meters. The store’s architecture is said to resemble those of other large stores in Beijing, Milan and New York. The launch of the store has been delayed several times, with the CEO of Apple retail, Deirdre O’Brien, to oversee its launch in May, according to local media reports.
India is considered a key market for Apple, which is keen to establish a presence in the region, both for manufacturing and for sales. The country is anticipated to become a major location for Apple’s core product manufacturing, and its burgeoning middle and upper classes present a huge market for the company’s products and services. Apple is keen to replicate in India the kind of success it has achieved in China, where it has become the company’s second or third most important market after the US.
To facilitate its growing presence in India, Apple is partnering with key manufacturers such as Foxconn, Wistron, Luxshare and Pegatron, and investing millions in the production of a range of products, from AirPods to iPhones to Macs and iPads. Apple is also looking to streamline its bureaucracy in the country and establish robust production and supply chains, although labour recruitment remains a major issue.
Apple’s growth in India is being driven by increasing concerns about the stability of its supply chain in China, particularly after last year’s Covid-19 pandemic. Widespread lockdowns in the country were seriously disruptive to production and there were insufficient iPhone 14 Pro models to meet demand during the Christmas period. This has driven the company to seek out new locations to diversify its supply chain, with India an attractive proposition despite its challenges.
