Apple chief Tim Cook inaugurated the tech giant's second retail store in Citywalk Mall in Saket, Delhi today as hundreds of people waited in long queues to witness the opening of the store.
The store, named Apple Saket, has a 70-member staff which are from 18 different states and speak 15 different languages. The store offers multiple services such as multiple display points, a Genius Bar and a Pickup point for customers to collect their online orders.
This store was inaugurated 2 days after the Apple chief opened their first Indian retail outlet in BKC Mumbai. Interestingly, both stores are 100% net zero emissions i.e. they run entirely on renewable energy!
The Mumbai launch had drawn in a lot more people as both events could be considered a massive success from an audience perspective.
However, why is Apple launching official retail outlets now?
Because India is now at the centre of its attention. Apple shipped 6.5 million iPhones to India in 2022. The company sold a staggering 2 million iPhones in Q4 of 2022, which was 18% higher on a sequential basis. Sales for the year jumped 50% YoY to reach $6 billion!
Low and mid-tier priced phones have been dominating the Indian smartphone market but a change can be seen. With disposable income rising and increasing spending on luxury, Apple phones are seeing an increase in popularity and sales among Indian citizens.
Moreover, Apple is also looking to shift a substantial amount of its production away from China to India. Most of its major suppliers like Foxconn and Pegatron are also setting up manufacturing plants in India as the company's current production in India accounted for almost 7% of all production!
Tim Cook also met PM Modi in Delhi as reports have suggested that Apple could double or triple investments in the country to improve production.
The stock of Apple closed at $167.63 per share yesterday.
- Aman Agarwal
Also Read, Tim Cook's view on Apple!
