Apple India reportedly plans to open three brick-and-mortar outlets as well as an online store as it finally enters the world’s second-most-populous market.
The US-headquartered tech company’s plans coincide with a further relaxation of government regulations affecting foreign retailers, easing the requirements of local sourcing and scrapping a law making it mandatory for brands to open physical stores before launching online.
Apple has already taken steps to manufacture products in India, partnering with Taiwanese company Wistron to make the iPhone 6S and 7 models there.
India’s population is growing at such a fast rate it will overtake China as the world’s most-populous nation within only a few years. Its rapidly growing middle class is making it an attractive destination for mobile phone brands as well as many large global retailers. But their ambitions have until recently been tempered by a raft of government laws protecting local ‘ma-and-pa’ retailers and Indian brands.
According to sources privy to Apple’s submissions to Indian regulatory authorities, first reported by The Press Trust of India, Apple has confirmed its plans to open a physical store network of its own. It already operates single-brand stores in partnership with local partners but the new ones are likely to be of a scale of flagship Apple stores in major international cities
As yet, there is no official word where the First Apple India store will open, but multiple sources are confident it will be in Mumbai.
Brands wanting to develop their own retail networks in India must commit to manufacturing some products within the country. Several years ago, this may have been considered an encumbrance, but with the mounting Sino-US trade war, manufacturers reliant on Chinese factories are looking for alternative low-cost manufacturing bases. Indian government officials are keen to work with brands to help them relocate.