Tim Cook to unveil Apple's first India stores in Mumbai, Delhi next week

As Apple firms up its plans to put India on its global manufacturing and retail map, the company's CEO Tim Cook will be in India next week to inaugurate Apple's brick-and-mortar stores in Mumbai and Delhi. Reliable sources told IANS that Cook will inaugurate Apple's own branded retail stores – at Jio World Drive Mall in Mumbai and at Select CityWalk mall in Saket, Delhi – that will be the first for the tech giant which has doubled down on its India growth plans.

According to news reports, the store in Mumbai will open on April 18 while the one in Delhi is slated for an April 20 inauguration. Apple set another all-time revenue record for the India market in the quarter that ended December 31, 2022.

In the analysts' call after posting its quarterly results, Cook said, "India is a hugely exciting market for us and a major focus. "We brought the online store there in 2020. We will soon bring Apple Retail there," Cook had announced. "I'm very bullish on India," he added, a report by Indo-Asian News Service says.

According to the India Cellular and Electronics Association (ICEA), Apple's 'Make in India' smartphone now constitutes 50 per cent of total exports. Reports surfaced earlier this year that Cook-led Apple will quickly shift some of its China manufacturing to India and Vietnam in the next 2-3 years.

India is likely to produce 45-50 per cent of Apple's iPhones by 2027, at par with China, where 80-85 per cent of iPhones were produced in 2022, according to estimates. India accounted for 10-15 per cent of iPhones' overall production capacity at the end of 2022. Apple became the first smartphone player in India to have exported $1 billion worth of iPhones in the month of December.

It currently manufactures iPhones 12, 13, 14 and 14 Plus in the country. As Apple gears up to throw open the gates of its first branded retail store in India this month, its physical stores have left an indelible impression on millions worldwide. For millions of Indians, visiting an Apple Store in the country will be a delightful experience.

For those who have a constant yearning to be 'delighted' at Apple Stores at world-famous tourist spots, India will soon be on the Apple's retail global map.