Apple fans left disappointed as, although the store was supposed to open to the public, only a few lucky ones could get inside
New Delhi: People had already started queuing up to get inside Select Citywalk mall at Saket early on Thursday morning, some of them as early as 4 am. After all, it was the day the iconic brand Apple Inc. was about to open its first store in the city and the second company-owned store in the country.
The 8,000 sq. ft. store on the first floor of the mall was scheduled to open to the public at 10 am sharp by none other than Apple Inc.’s chief executive officer Tim Cook.
But the mall was jam packed even before that. Eager fans crowded the outside of the store and were spilling onto the ground and second floor to simply be able to catch a glimpse of the store interiors and experience for themselves the hype surrounding the opening.
However, the excitement and joy were short-lived as many had to leave empty-handed and disappointed as they didn’t get the much-awaited entry into the store. The so-called public opening was limited to only a select few with passes. A few media personnel too had to turn back without luck. “We were invited but weren’t allowed inside,” said a representative of a leading broadcast channel who wasn’t entertained too.
“This is one of the worst managed store openings,” said another senior media person as even those with passes had to wait in a serpentine queue, which started from the ground floor, leading up to the store.
The Select Citywalk Mall generally attracts around 35,000 footfalls on weekends but the number of visitors had already breached 40,000 mark by the evening on Thursday, thanks to the store launch.
People were escorted into the store in batches of 10-15 by security.
However, IndiaRetailing did manage to get a preview of the store a day before. Read more about it here and also watch the First Look video.
Even though some Punjabi dancers were performing a Bhangra dance, the performance was not good enough to pacify and lift the spirits of those waiting for the launch. Overall the mood was mixed with equal measure of excitement and disappointment.
