Apple’s long-running plans to launch an online store in India may come to fruition before Diwali. According to a Bloomberg report, Apple is planning to open its online store in September ahead of the festive Dussehra-Diwali season.
Apple is reportedly looking to take advantage of relaxations in foreign direct retail policies, having wanted to open the store in 2019 but facing disruptions to the plan due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
CEO Tim Cook had earlier announced that an India store would be opened in 2021, telling investors at the annual shjareholder meeting in Apple Park that the company didn’t want “somebody else to run the brand| for them.
Apple currently sells its devices through third-party retailers in India.
India had relaxed its global sourcing norms in August last year, expanding the definition for mandatory 30 per cent domestic sourcing and allowing global sourcing by single brand retailers—a move welcomed by companies like H&M, Ikea and now, evidently, Apple.
The relaxation was followed by Apple’s launch of its first dedicated store in Mumbai.
The report comes as Apple’s manufacturing partner Wistron started assembling the latest and most affordable iPhone SE at its Bengaluru unit—a device considered key to Apple’s further expansion into the lucrative Indian market.
The COVID-19 pandemic had brought about disruptions in smartphone sales in India, partially on account of supply chains facing difficulties, with sales in July at half that of the previous year.
According to IDC, Apple has a 49 per cent market share in the premium smartphone segment (devices priced $500—Rs 37,000—or above).
