Infiniti Retail, a company owned by the Tata Group and operator of the Croma retail chain, intends to open 100 locations across the nation that will exclusively sell Apple products. According to the article, the stores would be constructed in malls, high-traffic regions, and neighbourhood locales.
Apple is slowly putting the pieces together to speed up its expansion in India, and this week, a fresh rumour claimed that the company intends to collaborate with Tata Group to create 100 distinctive stores.
A source cited by the media claims that Apple and Tata Group are in talks to open roughly 100 stores, each measuring 500 to 600 square feet. These stores will specialise in selling iPhones, iPads, and Apple Watch, even though they will be smaller than the nation’s current standard Apple reseller outlets. The stores would be built in retail malls, busy areas, and neighbourhood locations, the paper stated.
Apple has been preparing for its own retail location in India for a while. The company had intended to open its first site this year in Mumbai, but it appears that the pandemic has disrupted those plans.
However, it is likely that Apple now views this region as a significant market for its future in the global market given the growing popularity of iPhones among various consumer groups and its high climb in 2022 as a result of holiday season sales. Small stores run against Apple’s established approach because its big-format stores are frequently built out to 1,000 square feet or more in various different countries.
Media coverage of Tata Group’s interest on domestic iPhone production has increased recently. The company reportedly wants to purchase the Wistron facility so that it can help with domestic iPhone production.
Apple has been manufacturing iPhones in India since the iPhone 6S, and it is currently collaborating with local suppliers to manufacture the iPhone 14 vanilla model there as well. Given the company’s excessive reliance on China for production, Apple views India as a fantastic manufacturing alternative and may soon start making iPads there as well.