Amid Apple’s big retail push in India, company CEO Tim Cook is set to meet Prime Minister Narendra Modi, highlighting the Cupertino, California-headquartered tech giant’s growing ambitions for India, news agency Reuters reported on Monday. Apple has been targeting India as its growth market and manufacturing base.
Cook will also meet the country’s deputy IT minister as part of his visit to inaugurate Apple’s first retail store in the country’s financial capital Mumbai tomorrow (April 18), people familiar with the plans were quoted as saying by Reuters.
The CEO of the world’s most valuable tech firm landed in the city on Monday evening and is likely to welcome customers at Apple’s first store in Mumbai’s Bandra Kurla Complex tomorrow. It is pertinent to note that this trip is after a gap of seven years to India after Cook’s maiden visit in 2016.
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Apple opened its first store in the country’s financial capital in a private event where tech analysts, journalists and bloggers reviewed the design and store layout. It will be thrown open to the public tomorrow.
Bandra Kurla Complex or BKC is Mumbai’s financial, arts, and entertainment district from where Apple BKC gets its name. According to the iPhone maker, the store will serve as a dynamic space where customers can come together, explore Apple products and services, enjoy exceptional service, and learn how to get more out of their devices through free Today at Apple sessions. The opening of Apple BKC will be followed by a second one in New Delhi’s Saket on Thursday (April 20).
This development also coincides with India’s iPhone exports jumping almost four times to cross $5 billion or more than Rs 40,000 crore in FY 2023, in the wake of increased local production of Apple iPhone models, a recent report by ET Telecom said. India has become a smartphone export hub for countries including Germany, Russia, the UK, France, Italy, the Middle East and Japan.
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Said to be the company’s most sustainable store yet, Apple BKC was previewed a day ahead of launch in Mumbai’s bustling Bandra Kurla Complex on Monday (April 19).
Apple BKC will have over 100 team members who collectively speak over 20 languages, including local Indian languages.
Earlier last week, Apple officially announced the opening dates of its retail stores in Mumbai and Delhi, marking a significant retail expansion in the country. The iPhone maker has 522 stores across 25 countries and regions globally.