Amid plans to expand India footprint, Apple Stores go vocal for local, but with global hues
The two Apple Stores tie-in with the Apple India Online Store too, allowing customers to purchase a product or accessory online and pick that order from Apple Saket or Apple BKC
Apple BKC in Mumbai is now open for business, and with Apple Saket opening its massive glass doors on Thursday morning, the first chapter of Apple’s retail plans for India is complete. Yet, between the two stores which open days apart, there is as much uniqueness as there’s consistency. Cues from Apple Stores globally are visible, but with a local flavour for diversity and design.
Amidst the widening product lines that are on sale as well as an integration with the online store, the focus is on finer elements that customers will interface with, at both stores. The white oak tables and feature walls have been made in India. These look no different to similar elements at Apple Visitor Centre in Cupertino or Apple Regent Street in London, for instance.
“India has such a beautiful culture and an incredible energy, and we’re excited to build on our long-standing history,” says Tim Cook, CEO of Apple, underlying the importance of physical retail stores in India, as Apple completes 25 years in the country.
It is expected Apple will expand retail store presence in India over the next year, with more cities being earmarked for new stores. “We’re thrilled to bring the best of Apple to our customers in Delhi with the opening of our second store in India, Apple Saket,” says Deirdre O’Brien, Apple’s senior vice-president of retail.
At both stores, the complete portfolio of Apple’s own products, accessories and services are available. These include the iPhone 14 series, which is manufactured in India, alongside the Mac range, iPads, Apple Watch and the AirPods range. However, at both stores, third-party accessories are missing in action. Apple has not confirmed when these will arrive at the two stores. Globally, Apple sells third-party accessories as well, from select partners.
Location flexibility withstanding, creativity is on display with the architecture. Apple BKC, for instance, features a triangular handcrafted timber ceiling, which extends beyond the glass façade, adding a unique geometric visual element. Apple tells us there are over 450,000 individual timber elements in the store, including the 408 pieces that make the 1,000 tiles for the ceiling.
Apple BKC gets larger interior space to work with. All timber elements have been assembled in Delhi, while the stone walls were crafted in Rajasthan. Apple Saket will instead have a large store front, with full glass doors, similar to many stores around the world.
In contrast to Apple BKC that has more natural light to work with owing to its presence on the outer periphery, a more conventional location for Apple Saket inside a mall doesn’t allow for that flexibility. That is also the reason why Apple has forgone adding trees as an element inside Apple Saket, something which Apple BKC adopts. We have also seen similar elements in many Apple Stores globally, including Apple Dubai Mall.
Diversity among retail teams, Apple insists, cannot be compromised. Some of them are artists and musicians, by profession. “We’re here to help our customers, but we’re also neighbours. So, we always have that local connection,” Deirdre O’Brien told HT earlier.
Apple Saket store has a team of 70 members, including for sales, sessions and service, from 18 Indian states and speak more than 15 languages. Apple BKC has a slight larger team of 100 members, speaking over 20 Indian languages.
An important element for Apple Stores in India, will be the availability of services. Dubbed Genius Bar, this would include helping customers setting up a new device, fixing software bugs, recovering data or even helping fix broader hardware problems.
Apple has sustainability targets in place, including a commitment to be 100% carbon neutral for its supply chain and products by the year 2030. That extends to retail too. Apple BKC and Apple Saket utilise renewable energy from a dedicated solar array, making them carbon neutral operations.
The two Apple Stores tie-in with the Apple India Online Store too, allowing customers to purchase a product or accessory online and pick that order from Apple Saket or Apple BKC.
Taking cues from global Apple Store presence, Apple Saket and Apple BKC will also have daily Today At Apple learning sessions, focus areas including photography, digital art or getting the best out an Apple device (these are categorised as “skills”). These remain free to attend, with some focused on a younger audience, such as for coding or artwork.
