Croma, a leading retail network chain in India backed by Tata, has partnered with Apple to launch the Apple Store in the country.
The shops will be opened inside existing Croma stores in India. Of the six stores planned by both companies, five of them will be located in Mumbai — Malad, Juhu, Oberoi Mall, Phoenix Mall, and Ghatkopar — while the last one will open in Jayanagar in Bengaluru. These stores are scheduled to open by October-November next year.
Apple does not have a single retail store in India of its own, though it sells its devices in the country through premium resellers and a chain of authorised retail stores.
“We are proud to partner Apple to launch the Apple Store in India and extremely bullish about it,” said Avijit Mitra, chief executive officer of Infiniti Retail, which owns Croma. “These stores will be modeled on the global design and will offer the best experience to consumers, showcasing the entire range of Apple products.”
The design of the store will be based on the global design of Apple Stores, and the sales staff employed in these stores will be trained directly by the company as well.
The local laws in India have prevented Apple from opening its own stores in the country. However, by partnering with Croma, the company will be able to provide its users with the very best experience that is associated with an Apple Store without getting into any legal trouble.
Apple has been greatly expanding its retail presence in India in recent times. It is already working with its existing premium resellers to open up “neighbourhood stores” in the country under its Apple Mobility Resellers program. These 450-500sq. ft stores will only sell iPhones, iPads, and their accessories, and not Macs.
The company also pushed forward the launch of the iPhone 6s and iPhone 6s Plus to October 16 — less than three weeks from their U.S. launch.
[Via Economic Times, Telegraph India]
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