Apple is set to open its first official retail store in India’s financial hub of Mumbai aiming to sell more iPhones and other devices to Indians.
The Cupertino, California-based company launched an online retail store in India in 2020. Its 2021 plans for the launch of an offline retail store in the country were delayed due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Apple is selling its products in India on ecommerce platforms such as Amazon.com and Walmart’s Flipkart as well as through resellers.
India is the world’s second-largest smartphone market, with nearly 700 million smartphone users.
Xiaomi, Samsung, Vivo, OPPO and Realme are the top smartphone suppliers in India in 2022, according to IDC report.
Recently, Samsung, a well established smartphone brand in India, announced plans to open several experience centers across top cities.
Some products in Apple’s catalogue, including iPhones, are assembled in India by Taiwanese contract electronics manufacturers Foxconn and Wistron.
Around $9 billion worth of smartphones were exported from India between April 2022 and February this year, and iPhones accounted for more than 50 percent of that, according to the India Cellular and Electronics Association.
Apple also plans to assemble iPads and AirPods in India.
