Apple to Open First Apple Stores in India Within 18 Months

Following the Indian government's approval of Apple's request to open retail stores in the country, Apple is planning to launch three stores in India over the course of the next 18 months.

Apple will open Apple-branded retail stores in Delhi, Bangalore, and Mumbai before the end of 2017, according to a source that spoke to Indian website FactorDaily.

A team of more than 40 Apple executives and employees is said to be searching for ideal real estate locations for the three stores, each of which will span more than 10,000 square feet and will be located at "high street locations." Apple is planning on investing $3-5 million per store.

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At the current time, Apple has no retail stores in India and instead sells its products through third-party distributors in the country. India has decided to exempt Apple from a policy that requires foreign stores to source at least 30 percent of their goods from domestic suppliers, opening the door for the first retail stores.

While Apple will be able to open Apple Stores in India, a second request to import refurbished iPhones, which it could sell at lower price points, was recently denied. India, like China, is seen as a largely untapped market for Apple, and the company is eager to gain a stronger foothold in the country.

In addition to retail stores, Apple is planning to open a $25 million technology development site in Hyderabad, India, which will house more than 125 employees and focus on maps development. Apple is also said to be planning to unveil a startup accelerator in India, designed to incubate ideas for new iOS apps.

Tim Cook is planning to visit India this week, where he is expected to announce the accelerator and perhaps the new retail stores.

Related Roundup: Apple Stores

Tag: India

Top Rated Comments

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Chatter

45 months ago

Honestly, I don't want to sound racist or anything, but how exactly are they expecting any kind of customers from a country like India? I understand China, it is a country with a lot of potential in terms of development, but India has no chance whatsoever, because of how late it is in technology. Besides, there are many other countries which would need an Apple Store more, and many others which have some but only a few of them, so I don't understand this decision other than a "One billion people in a country means lots of customers" logic.

I don't think you are racist, just ill informed. Do a quick web search as a start.

Rating: 7 Votes

cursedearth

45 months ago

I'm not sure what sort of picture you've painted in your head about India, but in a country with a population of a billion plus individuals, the ratio of people who can afford Apple products can be compared to that of developed nations. This is very crude example to give you but given your generalisation, you'd probably understand what I'm trying to say here- India has the 3rd largest number of billionaires in the world .

Rating: 6 Votes

vooke

45 months ago

Honestly, I don't want to sound racist or anything, but how exactly are they expecting any kind of customers from a country like India? I understand China, it is a country with a lot of potential in terms of development, but India has no chance whatsoever, because of how late it is in technology. Besides, there are many other countries which would need an Apple Store more, and many others which have some but only a few of them, so I don't understand this decision other than a "One billion people in a country means lots of customers" logic.

You are no racist, calling you racist is insulting all racists. You are hopelessly ignorant. It is quite possible that each of the top 20% richest Indians make more than all your family will ever make in two consecutive eternities. That's what Apple is targeting. And trust me they are a sizeable number

Rating: 5 Votes

iThingsGurl

45 months ago

Honestly, I don't want to sound racist or anything, but how exactly are they expecting any kind of customers from a country like India? I understand China, it is a country with a lot of potential in terms of development, but India has no chance whatsoever, because of how late it is in technology. Besides, there are many other countries which would need an Apple Store more, and many others which have some but only a few of them, so I don't understand this decision other than a "One billion people in a country means lots of customers" logic.

The same country where Apple sales grew 56% YoY - even as Samsung's market share fell from 66% in Q1 2015 to 41% in Q1 2016. All this when Apple has no official presence in India, no retail stores, no service centres, no Apple Care, and Apple products are sold at much much higher rates by resellers.

Rating: 3 Votes

szw-mapple fan

45 months ago

You do realize that even in the poorest nations, there will be rich people? There are millions of people who could afford iPhone range prices for their phones even as there are hundreds of millions more who have to do with lower priced phones. And there is the development potential. You said that you "understand China," but do you? Up until recent decades, India was probably more industrialized than China, with what the British left behind in the colonial era. Just because India looks rather behind at the moment doesn't mean that it will be the case some years from now. Also, there is the fact that people in developing nations tend to buy more expensive phones (relative to their income), since in some people's cases it's the only affordable (compared to houses/cars) luxury they can afford.

Rating: 3 Votes

WordsmithMR

45 months ago

Considering the large population in India, it'd be a bit naive to think that all of them live in the ghetto and can't afford an iPhone or MacBook. I understand that they may not be the most prosperous country, but come on now... It's not like they're introducing the product to India for the first time. They're just selling it to them directly without having a third party retailer cutting in on the profits.

Rating: 3 Votes

acegreen

45 months ago

Oh boy you are about to get flamed for this. So you are saying that not even 10-20% of the 1Billion indian people can afford even an iPhone SE? Thats about 100-200 million which is more than one-third of the US market and bigger than a lot of markets Apple is currently in.

Also investment isn't about today, its about foreseeing 6 months to 10 years from now. India has as an unrivalled youth demographic, with FIFTY PERCENT (50%) under the age of TWENT-FIVE (25), and SIXTY-FIVE PERCENT (65%) under the age of THIRTY-FIVE (35)? Do you have any idea how big of an opportunity that is? At the same time, the middle class in both India and China is growing exponentially.

On the other hand, the current EU is in dire state, with an aging population, and the US is not that much better of. Not to mention, the US & EU markets are both saturated as can be seen by the first-ever drop in iPhone sales YOY.

The opportunity lies in the future, not the present!

Rating: 3 Votes

Karma*Police

45 months ago

I may have seen one of them in Vegas at the roulette table this weekend. He was betting hundred dollar chips like I bet 1's and 5's. He hit on a single number with $400, netting him a cool $14K in a couple of minutes. The crazy part is, he didn't even get that excited... barely cracked a smile.

Rating: 2 Votes