Apple’s own India store to open on 2022 I-Day | Economic Times

On August 15, 2022, the day when India would be celebrating its 76th Independence Day, Apple will have its own milestone date in the country. The tech giant will open doors to its first India company-owned-and-operated store in Mumbai, according to two people familiar with the development. “Apple has decided to open its first store on 15th August next year,” said one of them asking not to be identified.ET had reported in 2019 that Apple has leased 20,000-25,000 sq ft in Mumbai’s Maker Maxity Mall, co-owned by Reliance Industries, to open its first company-owned outlet in India. The pandemic delayed both the store launch and the opening of the Maker Maxity Mall by about a year and the mall is now scheduled to roll out ahead of Diwali this year, sources said. Apple did not respond to an email seeking comment.The Mumbai debut will be immediately followed by an outlet in New Delhi next year, said one of the persons quoted earlier. He said Apple plans to open three more outlets in the coming years — one in Bengaluru and plans to add one store each in Delhi and Mumbai, he said. Apple has been eyeing opening its own store in India for years. However, a 30% mandatory local sourcing clause for single brand retailing prevented the firm from opening its own stores in India.