Apple stores are coming to India, finally. The company has partnered with Croma, a retail network chain that is backed by Tata, as per a latest report from the Economic Times.
Under the partnership, the Apple stores will be available in the form of counters at a total of six locations as a pilot project. All set to open for Diwali next month, the Apple stores will bee 400-500 square feet in area. They will be set up at five Croma stores in Mumbai — Malad, Juhu, Oberoi Mall, Phoenix Mall and Ghatkopar while in Jayanagar Croma store at Bengaluru. The Apple stores will maintain the same global design design, furniture, fixtures and lighting and the sales staff employed in these stores will be trained directly by the company as well.
We are proud to partner Apple to launch the Apple Store in India and extremely bullish about it. These stores will be modeled on the global design and will offer the best experience to consumers, showcasing the entire range of Apple products.” Avijit Mitra, chief executive officer of Infiniti Retail, which owns Croma, told the publication.
Due to mandatory local-sourcing norms for single-brand foreign direct investment in retail, Apple has still not been able to set up its own stores in India. The company has significantly increased its retail presence in the country in the past year with five distributors. Last month, Apple CEO Tim Cook offered a positive response on plans to set up manufacturing unit in India after the Prime Minister met him in San Jose, California. The new iPhone 6s and iPhone 6s Plus are all set to launch in India on October 16 and are expected to be priced higher than usual.