Apple Store to arrive in India, most likely on the shores of Mumbai

May 9, 2019, 11:49 IST

Apple, the American smartphone manufacturer, plans to open its iconic 'Apple Stores' in Mumbai, India to match the likes of the store on Fifth Avenue in New York (featured above)Wikimedia

Industry insiders report that Apple is likely to set up its first ‘Apple Store’ in the country’s financial capital, Mumbai.
The Apple Store is expected to match the level of some of the company's most prolific outlets around the world like the one along Champs-Elysees in Paris.
This would be the first step by Apple to re-establish itself in India but there’s still a long road ahead before it can become a dominant player.

Apple has almost made its decision on where it’s going to set up shop in India. And, Mumbai seems to be the most likely candidate according to sources who spoke to Bloomberg.

It isn’t going to be an ordinary store either. Sources say that it will match the grandeur of the Apple Store on Fifth Avenue in New York or the one along the Champs-Elysees in Paris.

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Tim Cook, Apple’s CEO, emphasized on the importance of India during the company’s earnings report last week. Considering that the company is facing troubled times in China, India is Apple’s next best option to capture a larger market share.

India is a very important market in the long term. It’s a challenging market in the short term, but we’re learning a lot. We plan on going in there with sort of, all of our might.

Tim Cook, CEO of Apple, during the company’s earnings call

But, Apple hasn’t had an easy go of it in India either. It faced many roadblocks until it announced plans to increase its manufacturing efforts in the country.

Apple’s troubles in India

Apple is one of world’s most successful brands. Institutes use Apple as a case study to demonstrate how a brand’s consistency and emotional appeal can have a lasting impact.

In spite of all this might, and Apple considering India as a big opportunity, it has never been able to get its marketing right in the country. Its many problems range from iPhones being too expensive for the average user and battery issues, that make them less than ideal for round-the-clock use.

Adding to that, Apple couldn’t set up its iconic ‘Apple Store’ until it met the Indian government’s requirement of sourcing 30% of its material locally.

It has been manufacturing older iPhone models in the country. But, this year, it announced its plans to manufacture high-end devices as well.

The factory which produces iPhone 7 has already started operations. Apple’s manufacturing partner, Foxconn is setting up base in Bengaluru to mass produce iPhone X — a phone that retails for more than ₹60,000 apiece, even with the prices slashed.

Price cuts

To establish its base in India, Apple also ran heavy discounts on its cheapest variant of the latest series, the iPhone XR. Though, it should be noted that phone costs ₹59,900 even with a ₹17,000 concession.

Apple’s success doesn’t only depend on re-establishing its brand in India, but also on how it will take on Chinese smartphone manufacturers who currently dominate the market.

As of now, Apple doesn’t even figure into the top five phone brands. It’s going up against the likes of Xiaomi and Samsung, the top two brands in India during the last quarter according to Counterpoint.

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