India’s first Apple Store opening in the Bandra Kurla Complex in Mumbai

• India’s first Apple Store to open in Mumbai’ Maker Maxity mall located in the commercial hub of the Bandra Kurla Complex (BKC).
  
• Sources say construction of the store is already underway and the store will open in September next year.
  
• Apple has reportedly leased 20,000 to 25,000 square feet of space to build its store across three floors.
  

Apple and its fans in India have waited for this moment for a long time. It looks like the first signature Apple Store in India will be launching soon and in one of Mumbai’s most posh localities — the Bandra Kurla Complex (BKC).

Apple has reportedly leased 20,000 - 25,000 square feet to build its store in the Maker Maxity mall, co-owned by Reliance Industries, according to sources who spoke to the Economic Times. This will make it thrice the size of its largest franchisee store in India, which is around 8,000 square feet.

Apparently the construction of the store is already underway and it will spread over three floors when it opens in September next year.

The store will be similar to those in Hong Kong, which are around the same size.

Apple did not confirm that it is currently building the store but stated, “We appreciate the support and hard work by Prime Minister Modi and his team to make this possible and we look forward to one day welcoming customers to India’s first Apple retail store. It will take us some time to get our plans underway and we’ll have more to announce at a future date.”

Nothing to do with FDI norms

Apple had already announced plans of launching its store in India in May, before the easing of foreign direct investment (FDI) norms in August this year.

It plans to manufacture more high-end devices in India so that it could meet the government’s requirement to sourcing 30% of its material locally.

Increasing its manufacturing in India was also a fall-out of the US-China trade war. Apple’s sales in China had been suffering, the local manufacturing sector was contracting and the company decided to shift its base of operations.

But, the easing of FDI norms was beneficial for Apple — just in a different way. It allowed the company to set up its webstore for india.

Apple has plans to launch its new webstore within the next three months, which will allow customers to order products the company’s full range of products online — even before the Apple Store is set up.

See also:
Apple Store to arrive in India, most likely on the shores of Mumbai

Apple iPhone mass production is shifting from China to India — solving a key problem for the company