Official Apple stores are all set to come to India for the first time. However, the stores would not be run by Apple Inc but by Croma, a consumer electronics chain owned by Tata.
Reports suggest that these stores would have the signature wooden counters and tables even though they won’t be owned by Apple.
There would be a total of six stores in India–5 in Mumbai and 1 in Bengaluru–as a pilot. In Mumbai, they will be located at Oberoi Mall, Juhu, Malad, Ghatkopar and Phoenix Mall. The sixth store would be the Croma store in Jayanagar, Bangalore. These stores would begin operating before Diwali.
Avijit Mitra, CEO of Infiniti Retail, said that they are proud to be an exclusive partner of Apple to open Apple Store in India. They are sure of this being a profitable venture for them.
These stores may not be an Apple Store in the real sense but the entire design, fixtures, furniture and lightings will be the same as seen in their stores throughout the globe. Moreover, the sales staff would be trained by the company itself.
Apple sells its products through premium resellers, who run brand stores exclusively under the franchise model. Apple products are also available at popular multi brand mobile and electronics retail chains. The tech giant has already sold about 1.7 million iPhones in India between October 2014 and September 2015 and now that Apple is going to have its own store, the sale is expected to increase manifolds.
