Tim Cook officially opens India’s first Apple store

BLOOMBERG

Chief Executive Officer Tim Cook officially opened Apple Inc’s first company-owned store in India, betting the iPhonemaker’s retail outlets will help accelerate sales growth.
Cook, dressed in gray pants, blue half-sleeve shirt and sneakers, hugged the first customers and posed for selfies with them at the shop’s launch in the financial hub of Mumbai. Dozens of staff dressed in green T-shirts chanted “BKC!, BKC!,” referring to the Bandra-Kurla Complex business district where the store is located.
Apple is targeting the country of 1.4 billion to revive global revenue growth and diversify its manufacturing footprint beyond China.
The company’s sales in India hit a new high of almost $6 billion in the year through March, highlighting the market’s increasing importance.
Years in the works, Apple finally launched outlets in India after meeting regulators’ demands, including sourcing some of the products locally. With tech demand slowing globally, Apple has identified India’s expanding middle class as an attractive opportunity and it’s also adding production in the country at an increasing rate.
Only about 4% of India’s nearly 700 million smartphone users have iPhones. Cheaper local brands as well as Chinese and South Korean manufacturers have found more buyers among the cost-conscious shoppers in the world’s second-biggest mobile market.
After Mumbai, Apple opened an outlet in New Delhi. Apple’s stores across the globe serve as key retail and showcase points for the world’s most valuable company, while also often becoming tourist hotspots. They also double as support centers, a potential selling point because it makes product returns and repairs easier.
The retail push coincides with Apple expanding its local manufacturing. Apple tripled its production to more than $7 billion of iPhones in India last fiscal year, part of an effort to reduce its reliance on China as tensions between Washington and Beijing continue to escalate.