An Apple team from the US travelled to Bengaluru and Pune to explore the markets and visited some malls in both cities
New Delhi: Apple Inc. is now preparing to open company-owned iconic Apple stores in Bengaluru and Pune, buoyed by the stupendous response the Cupertino-based giant received for its first two India brick-and-mortar outlets launched last year in Mumbai and New Delhi, according to two people familiar with the plans.
“Both New Delhi and Mumbai stores are raking in the moolah,” one of the persons said. “Now they are looking at Bengaluru and Pune as the next possible rollouts of their stores,” one of the persons said, asking not to be named. He said, an Apple team from the US travelled to Bengaluru and Pune last week to explore the markets and visited some malls in both cities. “They are here for a recce of the market.”
Apple did not respond to an emailed questionnaire that was sent on Wednesday. This is the second time an Apple US team has visited Bengaluru and Pune to explore the cities for possible opening of the iconic Apple stores. A team from the headquarters had also visited both cities as part of an India study tour in 2022, a year before the Apple store launch in India, IndiaRetailing reported.
Last year, Apple debuted in India with its first two company-owned-and-operated brick-and-mortar outlets. The first store was opened in Mumbai’s Bandra Kurla Complex in April 2023 and that was followed by one in New Delhi’s Select Citywalk Mall three days later. Tim Cook, Apple’s chief executive officer, had travelled to India for the store launches. Both the stores are doing rocking business, according to the people.
Within months of its Delhi store launch, Apple dethroned the Spanish fashion brand Zara as the number one store by sales per month in Select Citywalk Mall, according to sources. Zara clocks about Rs 12 crore in sales a month from its store in the prominent South Delhi mall.
India is increasingly becoming a star market for Apple with the Cupertino company generating Rs 49,321 crore in sales from the country in fiscal year 2023, up 48% from financial year 2022 sales of Rs 33,381 crore. In 2023, Apple achieved a milestone of shipping 10 million iPhones to India, a 60% jump from the previous year.
