Apple has been operating in the Indian market for the past many years but instead of having a direct presence, the company has third-party resellers. That is about to change soon as Apple has confirmed to open its own stores in 2021.
However, before the company launches its offline stores in the Indian market, it will establish its online store. As per the reports, Apple could start its online store in India next month to take advantage of the upcoming festive season.
The report from Bloomberg is citing a person aware of the development say that Apple is planning to start operations of its own in the Indian market ahead of the Dussera and Diwali festive season.
It is also being reported that the company had planned to start the online store in India soon after the restrictions were relaxed in India last year. However, the company’s plan was impacted because of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Apple had to rely on the third-party resellers to run its brand in India because of the government restrictions that don’t allow stores owned by non-Indian firms. This rule forced the company to use third-party for sales as well as after-sales services.
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The company has already confirmed that the first official Apple Store in India will be located in Mumbai in the BKC Complex. Apple has reportedly purchased about 25,000 sq. ft. of space in Mumbai’s Maker Maxity Mall.
While one floor is expected to be the Apple Experience Center, the other floor will be sued for sales and after-sales services. The company is also reportedly working on a second offline store in Bengaluru.
Apart from increasing the retail presence in the Indian market, Apple is also shifting a significant portion of iPhone production to India through third-party manufacturers. This comes at a time when the company is trying to reduce its dependence on China for manufacturing and is looking to diversify the process.
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