Image: Apple.com
On April 18, 2023, Apple officially opened its first retail store in India. To celebrate the launch, Apple’s Chief Executive Tim Cook was there in person, and hopes to be in one of the world’s most population-dense countries will boost sales as efforts intensify to expand its supply chain.
The new store just opened in the busy metropolitan city of Mumbai and is the first of its kind in India, however, the tech company is also set to open a second in the capital city of New Delhi, this coming week.
India has been a major focus for Apple since earlier this year when the iPhone makers started using India to develop its products at a more cost-effective rate compared to China and other cheaper manufacturing countries.
Getting away from Chinese production and diversifying its supply chain is another reason why Apple has honed in on a push into India. China has been Apple’s main base of production operations for over 20 years now.
However, due to the recent unrest and restrictions in China causing continued problems, Apple is now looking to move operations to other countries, like India and Vietnam.
India has always been seen as an untapped market with exciting potential for any successful and ambitious company on the scale of Apple. The country will now be used as Apple’s main provider of iPhone production, which is still the tech company’s most important and successful product by far.
Currently, India only produces around 10% of overall iPhone production, most of which is sold on the local marketplace. With the expansion into India, Apple aims to manufacture as much as 50% of its iPhones moving forward.
One of the things that have been holding Apple back from using India for iPhone manufacturing in the past, is the fact that India doesn’t provide the same level of governmental support and coordination as China does. In the past, China has helped Apple to ‘clear the path’ and allow them to operate on whatever scale it needed.
Foxconn Technology Group, Apple’s main partner for manufacturing iPhones, has also been reported to be considering an Indian expansion. This would include upgrading one of its existing iPhone production plants, in Tamil Nadu, a southern Indian state near Chennai.
For many years, gaining ground in India has been a real struggle for Apple. Up until now, the tech giant has been selling its products through online means or by way of resellers and retail outlets.
With India being the second-biggest smartphone market in the world, and accounting for almost 15% of global market sales in terms of both annual sales and shipments, Apple is confident it can now capitalize on these figures and expand into India even further over time.
The new Apple retail stores are just one of the first ways for Apple to solidify its presence in India and increase sales quickly. According to the source, Apple has forecast a 5% holding for this year’s overall smartphone market in India. This would be a substantial increase from the reported 1% share they held in India in 2019.
The new store in Mumbai is multi-storeyed and located in the heart of a vibrant commercial district. The store is also set to utilize solar panel energy and other renewable technology. With more than 500 stores worldwide, the new Mumbai edition is positioned to be one of Apple’s most energy-efficient and advanced stores ever.
Image: Apple.com
On April 18, 2023, Apple officially opened its first retail store in India. To celebrate the launch, Apple’s Chief Executive Tim Cook was there in person, and hopes to be in one of the world’s most population-dense countries will boost sales as efforts intensify to expand its supply chain.
The new store just opened in the busy metropolitan city of Mumbai and is the first of its kind in India, however, the tech company is also set to open a second in the capital city of New Delhi, this coming week.
India has been a major focus for Apple since earlier this year when the iPhone makers started using India to develop its products at a more cost-effective rate compared to China and other cheaper manufacturing countries.
Getting away from Chinese production and diversifying its supply chain is another reason why Apple has honed in on a push into India. China has been Apple’s main base of production operations for over 20 years now.
However, due to the recent unrest and restrictions in China causing continued problems, Apple is now looking to move operations to other countries, like India and Vietnam.
India has always been seen as an untapped market with exciting potential for any successful and ambitious company on the scale of Apple. The country will now be used as Apple’s main provider of iPhone production, which is still the tech company’s most important and successful product by far.
Currently, India only produces around 10% of overall iPhone production, most of which is sold on the local marketplace. With the expansion into India, Apple aims to manufacture as much as 50% of its iPhones moving forward.
One of the things that have been holding Apple back from using India for iPhone manufacturing in the past, is the fact that India doesn’t provide the same level of governmental support and coordination as China does. In the past, China has helped Apple to ‘clear the path’ and allow them to operate on whatever scale it needed.
Foxconn Technology Group, Apple’s main partner for manufacturing iPhones, has also been reported to be considering an Indian expansion. This would include upgrading one of its existing iPhone production plants, in Tamil Nadu, a southern Indian state near Chennai.
For many years, gaining ground in India has been a real struggle for Apple. Up until now, the tech giant has been selling its products through online means or by way of resellers and retail outlets.
With India being the second-biggest smartphone market in the world, and accounting for almost 15% of global market sales in terms of both annual sales and shipments, Apple is confident it can now capitalize on these figures and expand into India even further over time.
The new Apple retail stores are just one of the first ways for Apple to solidify its presence in India and increase sales quickly. According to the source, Apple has forecast a 5% holding for this year’s overall smartphone market in India. This would be a substantial increase from the reported 1% share they held in India in 2019.
The new store in Mumbai is multi-storeyed and located in the heart of a vibrant commercial district. The store is also set to utilize solar panel energy and other renewable technology. With more than 500 stores worldwide, the new Mumbai edition is positioned to be one of Apple’s most energy-efficient and advanced stores ever.
