Tim Cook, the CEO of Apple, officially inaugurated the company’s first retail shop in Mumbai, the financial hub of India, by meeting the first customers and taking pictures of the group outside of Apple BKC. Apple has been doing business in India for more than 25 years. In 2020, it launched the country’s first online shop.
The finest features of the Apple BKC:
In Mumbai, on Jio World Drive, Apple BKC occupies 20,000 square feet. To reflect the distinctive geometry of the store, Apple BKC has a triangular handcrafted timber ceiling that extends past the glass façade to the underside of the outside canopy.
The 1,000 tiles that make up the ceiling are comprised of 408 pieces of wood each, comprising 31 modules per tile.
Over 100 people work at the Apple store at BKC, and they can communicate in over 20 different languages.
The latest models of the iPhone, Mac, iPad, AirPods, Apple Watch, and Apple TV are on show in the store, according to the business, along with a variety of accessories like AirTag. Additionally, Apple BKC offers Apple Pickup, which makes it even simpler for clients to place an order online and pick up goods at a time that suits them.
Jio World Mall and Apple have an over-11-year deal with a provision for a 15% rent increase every three years. Furthermore, it has been made known that Apple will pay a minimum guarantee of Rs 42 lakh per month in addition to 2% of the revenue share for three years. After that, the IT giant would give the Mumbai Mall 2.5% of the income share.
The second-largest smartphone market in the world. In the price-conscious Indian market, where more than 95% of cell phones use Google’s Android operating system, the iPhone remains an aspirational device.
Along with Cook, Deirdre O’Brien, Apple’s senior vice president of retail and people, is anticipated to travel to India this month to help inaugurate the two stores. Together, they are probably going to look for ways to increase manufacturing in the area as Apple tries to lessen its reliance on China.
However, experts claim that even while the stores are a crucial component of Apple’s branding strategy, they won’t immediately affect the company’s sales in India. Others, however, have argued that now is a good time for Apple to invest in India’s expanding “premium smartphone” market.
By “premium smartphone,” they mean cell phones that cost 40,000 rupees (£451; $558) or more.
Government sources say that the iPhone maker soon plans to increase the number of employees at its contract manufacturers in India, raising the total to over 2 lakh.
