Tim Cook Attends Opening of Apple BKC Store in Mumbai, India

[MacRumors]

Apple CEO Tim Cook today officially inaugurated the company's first retail store in India, opening its doors, welcoming the first customers, and posing for selfies outside Apple BKC.

The new flagship store is situated in the country's financial capital of Mumbai, located in a high-end shopping mall at Bandra-Kurla Complex – hence 'BKC' in the title – in the city's main business district. Apple says it is one of the most energy-efficient Apple Store locations in the world, with a dedicated solar array and zero reliance on fossil fuels for store operations. The store is operationally carbon neutral, running on 100% renewable energy.

The store opening is the culmination of sustained efforts by Apple to meet regulators' demands, which included making some of its products locally. Apple is set to open another store in the capital New Delhi on Thursday, and Cook is scheduled to attend. Cook is also expected to meet Prime Minister Narendra Modi during his visit. It is the Apple CEO's first trip to India in seven years.

Until now, Apple products have been sold in India either online or through Apple's regional website or through a network of resellers. Beyond bringing Apple branding cachet, the physical stores will offer a premium buying experience in a country where the premium smartphone market is relatively untapped. Only about 4% of India's nearly 700 million smartphone users have iPhones, with the majority owning low-cost Android phones.

https://twitter.com/x/status/1648218538778439681

Apple's sales in India hit a new high of almost $6 billion in the year through March. Revenue in India grew by nearly 50%, from $4.1 billion a year earlier, according to a source with knowledge of the matter cited by Bloomberg.

Apple has been working to build out a manufacturing supply chain in India, which is home to the world's second biggest smartphone market. In an indication of the country's perceived importance as a production hub, Apple shifted iPhone 14 assembly from China to India in the weeks following its release.

Article Link: Tim Cook Attends Opening of Apple BKC Store in Mumbai, India

 

[tomtad]

I wish Apple put as much effort into macOS as they do into their stores

 

[4odomi]

Apple CEO Tim Cook today officially inaugurated the company's first retail store in India, opening its doors, welcoming the first customers, and posing for selfies outside Apple BKC.

The new flagship store is situated in the country's financial capital of Mumbai, located in a high-end shopping mall at Bandra-Kurla Complex – hence 'BKC' in the title – in the city's main business district. Apple says it is one of the most energy-efficient Apple Store locations in the world, with a dedicated solar array and zero reliance on fossil fuels for store operations. The store is operationally carbon neutral, running on 100% renewable energy.

The store opening is the culmination of sustained efforts by Apple to meet regulators' demands, which included making some of its products locally. Apple is set to open another store in the capital New Delhi on Thursday, and Cook is scheduled to attend. Cook is also expected to meet Prime Minister Narendra Modi during his visit. It is the Apple CEO's first trip to India in seven years.

Until now, Apple products have been sold in India either online or through Apple's regional website or through a network of resellers. Beyond bringing Apple branding cachet, the physical stores will offer a premium buying experience in a country where the premium smartphone market is relatively untapped. Only about 4% of India's nearly 700 million smartphone users have iPhones, with the majority owning low-cost Android phones.

https://twitter.com/x/status/1648218538778439681

Apple's sales in India hit a new high of almost $6 billion in the year through March. Revenue in India grew by nearly 50%, from $4.1 billion a year earlier, according to a source with knowledge of the matter cited by Bloomberg.

Apple has been working to build out a manufacturing supply chain in India, which is home to the world's second biggest smartphone market. In an indication of the country's perceived importance as a production hub, Apple shifted iPhone 14 assembly from China to India in the weeks following its release.

Article Link: Tim Cook Attends Opening of Apple BKC Store in Mumbai, India

The problem Apple has in countries such as China & India, is that most people are just as happy with a knock off as the real thing, however, I suspect this will significantly increase the sales in India

 

[4odomi]

I wish Apple put as much effort into macOS as they do into their stores

Still way better than a PC 😊, I personally haven't got any issues, then again I'm not a pro user.
Apple has lost a lot of top end programmers in the last 2 years, they're left with average programmers, who like to skive pretending to be working at home, lack of top end development is the consequences of the current Mac OS & IOS 😏

 

[Jay Tee]

In spite of high import duties, everyone I know in India has an iPhone Pro/ProMax: if more components are manufactured there, Apple's stock will go vertical.

 

[mystery hill]

The problem Apple has in countries such as China & India, is that most people are just as happy with a knock off as the real thing, however, I suspect this will significantly increase the sales in India

China and India have a population of 1.4 billion each.

Even with a 2% market share, that would be 28 million iPhone users in India.

For comparison, with a 100% iPhone market share, Australia would have 26 million iPhone users.

This is simplified obviously, and assumes even newborn babies have phones.

 

[4odomi]

China and India have a population of 1.4 billion each.

Even with a 2% market share, that would be 28 million iPhone users in India.

For comparison, with a 100% iPhone market share, Australia would have 26 million iPhone users.

This is simplified obviously, and assumes even new born babies have phones.

Which is why I ended my post with a; I suspect it will significantly increase sales in India, it doesn't change the fact that India & China are not huge markets for quality goods.

 

[4odomi]

In spite of high import duties, everyone I know in India has an iPhone Pro/ProMax; once more components are manufactures there, Apple's stock will go vertical.

Are they real or knocked off fakes?

 

[sorgo †]

Nice going, Tim & Co.! 👏🙌

 

[Feek]

Let's hope he's more enthusiastic than when he waved the checkered flag at the F1 last year.

 

[Mike_Trivisonno]

"Uh, you have a beautiful heart."

 

[TheYayAreaLiving 🎗️]

Let's hope he's more enthusiastic than when he waved the checkered flag at the F1 last year.

It seems like he is.

Full video below. It seems like the customer was getting ready to give him a kiss on his cheek 😇

https://twitter.com/x/status/1648236613754060800

 

[newyorksole]

this doesn’t affect me one way or another, but still very exciting. better late than never!

 

[japanime]

That architecture is gorgeous. Well done, Apple!

 

[SamboSoul]

It seems like he is.

View attachment 2190227

Full video below. It seems like the customer was getting ready to give him a kiss on his cheek 😇

https://twitter.com/x/status/1648236613754060800

I have never seen Tim Cook being more excited and surprised than in this video.

 

[nikaru]

this doesn’t affect me one way or another, but still very exciting. better late than never!

Well, it may affect you in some way. The Indian smartphone market is huge, but focused obviously on low-end devices. Apple should rethink its go-to-the-market strategy and optimize prices in order to reach higher penetration, which at the end of the day, could benefit other markets. Markets like India, Pakistan, Indonesia, Brazil are putting pressure on Apple in terms of how much they can charge you for an iPhone, which ultimately benefits also US/European market since Apple products are global.

 

[DelayedGratificationGene]

Great stuff Apple! Anything to bring the world closer together. Love that picture of Tim surrounded by those excited workers!

 

[rpmurray]

Doesn't seem to be much protection around the exterior of the store. Some random guy could just drive an SUV into it.

 

[orbital~debris]

Great scenes! Especially the video clip posted above by @TheYayAreaLiving 🎗️ (Classic  meets Modern ).

And a nice 'closing of the ring' as it were for Apple – Steve Jobs was reportedly inspired by India during the time he spent wandering there in search of spiritual enlightenment, so it's fitting that Apple finally have an official footprint there.

 

[philcourage]

He needed more of that 20 USD Apple cloth.

 

[shanson27]

Apple is getting too big, the fall could be painful 🤪

 

[Realityck]

Per CNN In a statement Monday, Cook pointed to Apple’s ongoing expansion in the country, saying its brick-and-mortar launch coincided with its 25th year of operating there.

“India has such a beautiful culture and an incredible energy,” he said. “We’re excited to build on our long-standing history — supporting our customers, investing in local communities, and working together to build a better future.”

it took 25 years to get to the first store? that’s saying a lot about the challenges of doing this in India.

 

[tridley68]

Wish little Timmy put as much effort into making an inventive and better product as he does showboating around the country .

 

[Realityck]

Wish little Timmy put as much effort into making an inventive and better product as he does showboating around the country .

i get the thought to do more with product updates but he’s far from little at 6’3” or 190.5 cm tall.

 

[philcourage]

Apple is getting too big, the fall could be painful 🤪

You can thank Wall Street for that. They have the fiduciary obligation to grow, grow, grow, and that only means it's a matter of time before they became IBM, Microsoft or other faceless company with products no one cares about.