India’s first Apple Store opens in Mumbai
New Delhi, Apr 18 (EFE).- India’s first Apple Store opened Tuesday in the western city of Mumbai, with a ceremony attended by the company’s CEO Tim Cook, as well as hundreds of enthusiasts of the famous tech brand.
After a brief countdown by the store’s hundred employees, Cook opened the doors of the store for the first customers, who had formed a long queue for hours outside, according to footage aired on local broadcaster NDTV.
The opening of this multi-story store, located in one of the most exclusive shopping centers of India’s financial hub, comes days before the opening of the second Apple Store in the country on Thursday, marking more than 25 years of Apple’s presence in India, the company said in a statement Monday.
Until now, the Cupertino-based firm only sold products in India online or through e-commerce platforms or resellers, among others.
However, the opening of its first physical stores will allow users to access their products and their technical service in person.
Cook is also expected to meet with Indian government officials looking for new ways to expand in India, which represents the second-largest global market by number of users.
Beyond the direct sale of its products, Apple’s projects in India include a training center for mobile app developers for its iOS operating system, located in the southern city of Bangalore, and the assembly of their smartphones in plants in the country, which generate almost 900,000 jobs.
Apple tripled its iPhone manufacturing in the last fiscal year, according to a report published by Bloomberg that cited sources in the knowhow.
The current trend could result in the company manufacturing one in four iPhones in India by 2025, according to a report by financial services firm JP Morgan published late last year.
Although the high price of Apple products has kept it out of the top five most popular phone companies in the country, the company dominates the “luxury” sector with a market share of 60 percent in 2022, according to the International Data Corporation. EFE
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