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Apple isn't giving up on India just yet; brand has big plans for retail locations
While Apple may be the world’s most valuable company and the third largest smartphone manufacturer, the brand hasn’t exactly been performing well in India recently. In fact, during the first six months of the year, Apple sold fewer than 1 million iPhone units in the market. Despite this, though, the brand still has big plans for the country in the hope of turning around its business.
Overall, the focus of Apple’s turnaround efforts will be new flagship stores. Reportedly, Apple has three major ones of its own already in the works that will be located in New Delhi, Bengaluru, and Mumbai. However, the Silicon Valley-based company is now said to be switching its focus over to “flagship” reseller stores due to the long process of obtaining government approval for its own alternatives – the Indian government has regulations in place which stipulate that 30% of products sold must be manufactured within the country. According to the information, the iPhone giant has plans to establish around 5 or 6 reseller stores in “extremely prominent locations” found within the three cities mentioned above and Chennai, Hyderabad, and Pune, which are Apple’s biggest markets within India.
Rather than lowering the price of its smartphones in the market, the American company is said to be betting on the “experience” its products and stores can provide. Because of this, the company will be working closely with the resellers in order to maintain the overall look and feel level it requires. Additionally, Apple is also said to be open to the idea of having reseller stores that are up to 5000 square feet in size, significantly bigger than current ones that tend to sit at around 1500 square feet.
Aside from plans for physical locations, Apple is also expected to enter into new agreements with online retailers that will boost the brand’s presence throughout the market. At this point in time, though, it’s unclear what kind of timeline the company has in mind to complete its new plans.
