The launch of Apple’s first offline (that is, retail) store in India, announced for this year for Mumbai, is delayed because of the COVID-19 pandemic, reports The Indian Express.
A retail store in the country has been planned for a long time. In 2017 it was reported that Apple wants to open premium retail stores at prime locations either in a mall or high street in New Delhi and Mumbai. The Indian stores, if/when realized, would be nearly double than that of its average global store size of 8,500 square feet and will be the biggest single brand electronics store in the country, nearly 7-10 times that of rival Samsung.
Apple has seen increasing success in the country. In June it was reported that Mac sales in India tripled after the opening of the tech giant’s retail store. Apple jumped to fifth place among personal computer brands in India in the first quarter of 2021. The company’s shipments of desktops, notebooks, tablets and workstations combined to reach 208,000 units, according to data from Canalys.
And in April it was reported that Apple’s increased focus on manufacturing jobs in India has created 20,000 jobs. And the Indian government says that an additional 200,000 jobs could be created over the next five years.
