On Wednesday, Apple’s chief executive officer Tim Cook is anticipated to meet with India’s prime minister, Narendra Modi. According to reports, he will also greet customers to the iPhone manufacturer’s first store in Mumbai. The trip highlights Apple’s growing ambitions in India, the second-largest smartphone market in the globe.
According to various media reports, Apple CEO Tim Cook will meet with India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi and its deputy IT minister as part of his visit to inaugurate the iPhone maker’s first retail store in the country this week.
Cook’s visit this week to inaugurate the first official company-owned stores in Mumbai and New Delhi highlights Apple’s growing ambitions in India, where the company has been expanding iPhone assembly through contract manufacturers and increasing exports despite having only a 3% market share.
Wednesday, Cook will encounter Modi in New Delhi, according to two sources, one of whom is a government official from India. According to one of the sources, the Apple CEO will also meet with Rajeev Chandrasekhar, India’s deputy IT minister.
Cook’s discussions occurred at a moment when Apple is increasing its focus on India, the second-largest smartphone market in the world, according to unnamed sources.
According to the India Cellular and Electronics Association, between April 2022 and February of this year, India exported nearly USD 9 billion in smartphones, with iPhones accounting for more than half.
Apple opened its first store in Mumbai on Monday, but only for a private event attended by a few bloggers and tech analysts. It will be available to the public on Tuesday, and on Thursday, a second store will open in a New Delhi shopping mall. Apple previously marketed its products in India via resellers and e-commerce platforms like Amazon.
In addition to Michael Kors, Kate Spade, and Swarovski, the Mumbai store is located in the prestigious Reliance Jio World Drive mall, which also contains other premium apparel and jewellery brands. According to local registration documents, it is 20,800 square feet in size, making it substantially larger than the proposed location in Delhi.