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Plans to open the first ever Apple Store in India are reportedly being delayed for the second time. The store in the capital Mumbai was originally scheduled to open in 2021 before being pushed back to 2022. Due to a further delay, the opening is scheduled for 2023.

This store is expected to become one of the most impressive Apple Stores in the world, on par with the flagship stores in Singapore and Los Angeles…

Background

Apple has long wanted to open its own retail stores in India, with plans dating back to at least 2015, but the process has proven more difficult than expected.

India has taken a sensible approach to economic development, offering both incentives for the creation of local manufacturing enterprises and barriers to importing foreign-made products. This carrot-and-stick method has proved successful, with companies like Apple jumping over all the necessary hurdles to sell their products to the world’s second-largest population.

The India First initiative required companies to produce a significant proportion of their products domestically to avoid high import tariffs. This forced Apple, Samsung and others to set up manufacturing plants in India, creating jobs in the country.

In addition, company-branded retail stores are not permitted in India unless the same conditions are met. This particular requirement was mainly for Apple.

The plan worked: Apple asked its iPhone suppliers and assemblers to set up factories in India. Initially, this was only for the iPhone SE, but more advanced phones have been gradually added, including the iPhone 13 earlier this year.

Foxconn is Apple’s top supplier in the country, responsible for all iPhone 13 production, while Wistron makes the iPhone SE and iPhone 12.

Apple Store Plans in India Postponed

Apple finally met the requirements to open its own retail stores in the country back in 2020. The company started with an online store where Mac sales tripled within a year.

The first physical Apple Store in India was due to open last year, but the company pushed back its plans to 2022 after the country was hit hard by the pandemic.

The Indian newspaper Economic Times reports that the opening has now been delayed until the first quarter of next year.

The opening of Apple’s flagship retail store in India has been further delayed as the iPhone maker plans to open its first own store in the country in Mumbai in January-March next year.

The reasons are partly due to pandemic-related issues, such as interior fittings and other supplies being delayed due to delivery shortages, they said.

However, the store should be worth the wait. Expected to open at the prestigious Jio World Center in Mumbai (pictured above), it will be one of the most impressive Apple Stores in the world.

Apple is developing the store as a retail attraction in India, similar to outlets known for their design and architecture in Los Angeles, New York, Beijing, Milan and Singapore.

A second store is planned to open at New Delhi’s Select Citywalk Mall, and Apple Stores will feature prominently in both cases.

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