Apple store is coming to India on 2022 Independence Day: Report

On August 15 next year, the day when India would be celebrating its Independence Day, iPhone maker Apple will have its own milestone date in the country.

According to two people familiar with the development, the tech giant which is based out of California’s Cupertino will open its first store in Mumbai. “Apple has decided to open its first store on 15th August next year,” said one of them asking not to be identified.

According to the report, the Mumbai store debut will be followed by an outlet in New Delhi, and the tech giant plans to open three more stores in the coming years, one each in Delhi, Bengaluru, and Mumbai, the person said.

As per the reports, Apple has leased 20,000-25,000 sq ft in 2019 in Mumbai’s Maker Maxity Mall, co-owned by Reliance Industries to open its first company-owned outlet in India. The corona pandemic delayed both the store launch and the opening of the Maker Maxity Mall by about a year and it is now scheduled to roll out ahead of Diwali this year, sources said.

The growth trajectory of Apple in India has been impressive across all product categories for three consecutive quarters. The company also posted a June quarter revenue of $81.4 billion, up by 36% year-over-year.

During the 2Q21 earnings call, Apple’s CEO, Tim Cook, said, “Apple is reporting a very strong quarter with double-digit revenue growth across our product and services categories and in every geographic segment. We set a new June quarter revenue record of $81.4 billion, up 36% from last year, and the vast majority of markets we tracked grew double digits, with especially strong growth in emerging markets, including India, Latin America and Vietnam.”