Apple’s first two retail stores opened in India, earlier in April in Mumbai and Delhi welcoming customers from all over the country and around the world to discover the best of Apple. The two new retail locations in India: Apple BKC opened in Mumbai on April 18 and Apple Saket in Delhi on April 20. These new retail locations mark a significant expansion in India that will offer great new ways to browse, discover, and buy Apple products with exceptional service and experiences for customers.
The company at present sells its products in India through exclusive Apple Premium Reseller (APR) stores, large format retail chains like Reliance Digital, and Croma etc, multi-brand retail stores and through e-commerce platforms. Consumers will now be able to experience the entire ecosystem of Apple products, accessories and customisation options under one roof. Consumers at the Apple store could get to learn something new by signing up for programmes like 'Today at Apple', getting help setting up devices, and migrating from Windows or Android to the Apple ecosystem.
Apple continues to expand its range of services available to customers in India, offering a growing catalogue of music in Spatial Audio on Apple Music, and most recently launching the new Apple Music Classical app designed specifically for classical music lovers. Services like Apple Music elevate local artists like Mali, Armaan Malik, DIVINE, and Sandunes through expert curation and editorial.
Manufacturing Base
More recently, the company has been aiming to ramp up its production in India. Apple’s aim and vision of shifting its manufacturing base to India have largely been due to India offering a to be more viable solution than China. China’s stringent anti-covid policies and stringent measures of manufacturing have been some of the prime reasons for large MNCs to look at a solution outside China.
The company increased its exports from the country significantly last year, with the number of iPhones made and shipped from India rising 65% in 2022 compared to the previous year, according to Counterpoint Research. Apple first began making iPhones there in 2017. But in recent months, it has expanded production after suffering severe supply chain snags in mainland China, which accounts for the bulk of its smartphone manufacturing.
Two of Apple’s top contract manufacturers, Foxconn and Wistron, were the fastest-growing manufacturers in India during the last quarter of 2022, according to Counterpoint. Last month, Foxconn CEO Young Liu spent a week in the country and met Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
The southern state of Karnataka said Foxconn had announced a major deal during Liu’s visit and that 300 acres of land had been allocated for a facility.
According to a report from Bloomberg citing unnamed sources, the Taiwanese company plans to invest about $700 million in a new plant in the
The state capital of Bengaluru to make iPhone parts. An Indian government minister said in January that Apple was hoping to boost its output in India to a quarter of its overall total from somewhere between 5% and 7%. Apple did not respond to a request for comment at the time.
Scope for growth
Apple setting up its retail stores in India is the starting point for Apple to expand its manufacturing base in India. Apple leads sales of premium smartphones in India, with the iPhone 13 ranking as the country’s overall bestseller in the segment last year, according to Counterpoint.
But the company lags behind other brands in the overall market, which is led by Xiaomi and Samsung, the research firm said.
Apple accounted for just 1% of India’s smartphone market in 2019, and may notch more than 5% this year, Prachir Singh, a Counterpoint senior analyst, added. He said its market share could grow as it opens its own stores in the country, particularly as Mumbai is the second largest Indian market for Apple after Delhi.
