Apple opens first store in Mumbai, set to launch second in Delhi

Apple inaugurated its first retail store in India on Tuesday showing its increased focus on the market in the country as people queued outside the store to be among the first to enter.

The store located in Reliance-owned Jio World Drive mall in Mumbai, people were seen taking selfies with Apple CEO Tim Cook who inaugurated the store and opened the gates himself.

Taking to Twitter, Cook said: "The energy, creativity, and passion in Mumbai is incredible! We are so excited to open ... our first store in India."

The event featured Indian music and folk dancers that followed

Some of the customers waited outside the store overnight despite the products' availability online.

The store was opened for tech analysts and bloggers on Monday where several Indian media celebrities met with Tim Cook.

In a statement on Monday, the tech behemoth regarded the stores as a "major expansion" of its presence in India.

"We're excited to build on our longstanding history," Cook said who is on his first trip to India. 

Purav Mehta who was waiting to buy the Apple Watch Ultra told Reuters: "The fanboy inside me would not listen."

The visitors at the store wore shirts of Steve Jobs and one person even brought the first Apple computer that was launched in 1984.

Stationery dealer Madhav Mimani, 27, travelled about 900 kilometres from Rajasthan for the event.

"I think with Apple manufacturing in India, the prices are going to go down because it's local manufacturing, which makes the iPhones affordable," he said.

"It also increases chances of the Indians buying iPhones made in India because of the sentimental value."

Previously, the California-based tech giant was facing troubles in opening its physical store in India. However, the products were available online. Its online store for the country was opened in 2020.

Apple is scheduled to open its second store in New Delhi on Thursday. 

Reuters reported that CEO Cook will also meet Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the deputy IT minister later this week.

India hosts the world's second-largest smartphone users after China. Apple is eyeing to increase its manufacturing footprint in India in order to reduce its supply chain dependence on China.

According to the research firm Canalys, Chinese smartphone makers Xiaomi, Vivo, OPPO and Realme had a combined market share of 66% in 2022 while Samsung held a 19% share. Apple's iPhones had just a 4% share last year.

Canalys analyst Sanyam Chaurasia told AFP that Apple could benefit from the premiumisation of India's smartphone market and financing schemes for both retailers and consumers.

"Apple is emphasising more on the Indian market because they see more opportunity," he said.

India 'a major focus'

In February, Cook said "India is a hugely exciting market for us and is a major focus", adding that "We are, in essence, taking what we learned in China years ago and how we scale... and bringing that to bear."

He also remarked that Apple was "putting a significant amount of energy" into India and that he was "very bullish" on the country.

A Bloomberg News report last week suggested that just 1% of Apple's iPhones were made in India in 2021, but that jumped to 7% last year.

IPhones began to manufacture in India in 2017 through Taiwanese companies Foxconn, Wistron and Pegatron.