On Tuesday Apple CEO Tim Cook opened his first-ever physical retail store in India among thousands of Apple fans who were there to cheer from outside.
From Tuesday afternoon onwards the people of Mumbai will be able to experience and buy Apple products from the newly opened store at Jio World Drive Mall in the Bandra Kurla Complex (BKC). The store opening is a strategy towards increasing the offline presence of Apple in the Indian market and giving competition to its rival Samsung.
Approximately 5000 tech enthusiasts attended the Apple BKC store and some of them arrived almost three hours before the mentioned opening time and as early as 8 am. A bunch of media people were welcomed in the special preview of the store and were given a tour of it.
The Apple store is all about a unique shopping experience. The ambiance is spacious with a warm vibe and enough sunlight through the glass walls. The plants placed inside the store are giving a friendly approach. Apple claims the store to be the most sustainable one and is neutral to carbon and works on 100 percent renewable energy.
The green color T-shirt of the sales team members signifies the sustainable approach. The 100-member team of the BKC store can speak more than 20 languages among themselves. The staff are well equipped with the knowledge of every Apple product and guide the visitors through the desired technologies.
The store is given an Indian touch keeping the basic design philosophy of the stores around the globe intact. There is a triangular, handcrafted timber ceiling that extends beyond the glass façade and has over 4,50,000 timber elements that are sourced from Delhi. A 14-meter-long stainless steel staircase and two grey stone walls are there at the entrance sourced from Rajasthan, along with the mosaic flooring.
The store will currently sell the available products in India- MacBooks, iPhones, iPads, and watches along with the Apple Arcade, the Apple HomePod, Apple Music, and Apple TV+. The genius bar on the first floor provides necessary assistance to visitors. The Apple Store opening is a step towards strengthening the company’s base in India.