The much-hyped launch of Apple’s first offline store in India is delayed due to the Covid-19 pandemic. CEO Tim Cook last year announced that the first physical Apple stores would open in the country starting 2021.
According to sources, Apple has been working to establish its native retail presence in the Indian market for some time. The company had stated last September its online store to begin its retail business in the country.
For Cupertino-headquartered tech giant, India is the most promising market that’s becoming one of the key focus countries for the iPhone market.
It was considered as a strategic move by Apple to stand against traditional ecommerce players including Amazon and Flipkart that also sell devices such as the iPhone, iPad, and MacBook. The decision comes at a time when the company is getting wider acceptance among youngsters.
Apple has also ramped up manufacturing in the country with the most recent iPhone 12 also now being assembled here. It currently manufactures the iPhone 11, iPhone SE 2020, iPhone XR, iPhone 7 and iPhone 6s.
Earlier, a report in The Indian Express had confirmed the same development. There have been news about Apple’s offline stores coming to India since the past couple of years. Apple CEO Tim Cook had said last year that the company plans to set up its native presence in the Indian retail sector.
Currently, the company sells its devices in the country through distributors who operate under a franchise retail network. Apple, however, wants to penetrate deeper into the market by establishing its own physical stores.
It is interesting to find Cook and other Apple executives have remarked on India’s importance, including in the latest quarterly earnings call, stating that Apple had grown double-digits in India, along with a few other countries.
