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Apple first retail store in Mumbai To open on April 18
All eyes will be on Apple on April 18, when Apple is expected to open the doors of its first official Apple retail store in India. India's first Apple Store, Apple BKC, will open at 11:00 am IST at Jio World Drive Mall at Bandra Kurla Complex (BKC) in Mumbai.
Another store called Apple Saket will open on 20 April at 10:00 am IST at Select Citywalk, New Delhi. Apple Stores are known for their design, feel and for stocking every Apple product on sale in that country.
Tim Cook's trip to India comes seven years after the CEO's first visit in 2016. The visit also coincided with the world's most valuable company hitting important markers: sales of iPhones in India have reached an all-time high and annual iPhone exports from the country have crossed billions of dollars.
The visit also underlines the company's ambitions for the country as a growth market and manufacturing base. Amid strained Beijing-Washington ties, Apple is betting on India to diversify its assembly operations away from China.
The concept of Apple retail store is completely new to India. So, we first discuss how different they are and whether the store concept is special to begin with. This has less to do with store features and more to do with how uniquely Apple does what it does. Stores similar to the Apple Store format (though not replicas) exist in the form of authorized retail stores such as Maple, Aptronics, and the like. But a real Apple store does things quite differently and we believe this can be an eye-opener for most Apple customers or visitors.
While some of the locations of Apple stores abroad are very special in terms of architecture and design, stores in other locations may not be so special. So, it will be really interesting to see how Apple builds its Apple retail store design around the culture of these two cities in India.
Beyond the visual and cosmetic treatment, the Apple retail store is also about the experience. The stores are known for constantly inviting local artists, holding training sessions and more. There is also a focus on education, mainly to do with Apple devices.
Let's think about how Apple retail stores can do things differently for the Indian market. How it has the potential to change the way most people see and experience Apple service and support right now. And how the Apple online store has been a precursor to the first grand opening and hopefully many more stores to come in India.
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