AApple’s first fully owned store has opened in India. Apple BKC and Apple Saket were both launched in India with much fanfare, with Tim Cook personally present. The Apple CEO was accompanied by Deirdre O’Brien, senior vice president of retail and people. The fact that two of Apple’s most senior executives were in India for almost a week and interacted with local makers, influencers and the corporate community, besides interacting with Indian government officials, including Prime Minister Modi, shows that Shows how important India is. The market for Apple and how the tech giant’s strategy revolves around these stores.
Both stores are powered entirely by renewable energy, which is in line with Apple’s 2030 carbon neutrality goal. In fact, Apple claims that the Mumbai store is its most sustainable store yet, with a massive solar panel array outside the facility that powers it. The Delhi store is also powered by a solar array. They also cater to local customs, such as assigning door attendants, something that is not present in most Apple Stores around the world.
The architecture of the Mumbai store draws inspiration from the city’s “Kaali Peeli” taxi art and other Indian design elements. The handcrafted wooden ceilings extend beyond the geometry of the shop, with each tile made from 408 wooden pieces. The 450,000 individual elements were assembled in New Delhi, while the stone walls were inspired by Rajasthan and some design features by the Hawa Mahal. The store in New Delhi reportedly cost Rs 100 crore and was built in just six months. It has 52 fire proof panels costing Rs 2.5 lakh per meter and each panel is 8 meters large. It also has German firm tiles casablanca And the tables were imported from a company called Tessa.
With 100 employees speaking over 20 languages, including 15+ local Indian dialects, the store has a diverse workforce, more than half of whom are women. The facility combines Apple’s trademark glass walls and a 14-metre-long stainless steel staircase to a cantilevered mezzanine at ground level. Even the Delhi store has 70 employees from over 15 states in India who can speak over 15 local languages.
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Today at Apple
In an effort to make the whole experience more interactive, the stores will host ‘Today at Apple’ sessions – led by actual creators, not marketing and sales executives. Mumbai will witness Mumbai Rising from 18th to 25th April, featuring creators like ace designer Anirudh Mehta aka The Bigfat Minimalist. These sessions will be instrumental in differentiating these retail outlets. a previous column in impression had elaborated How makers from different walks of life will host sessions showcasing the vast capabilities of the phone maker’s hardware.
These sessions, which can host up to 50 people, will walk users through how to use the gadgets. Apple will also host these creators and pay them for their services, opening up another source of income for them. In Delhi, the sessions will be held in a unique round table format, making them even more intimate. Users will be taught how to shoot photos using an iPhone or create art using an iPad or even create music on a Mac.
The inauguration coincides with Apple’s 25th anniversary in India and a period of rapid growth in manufacturing and sales. Apple dominates the Indian premium electronics market and has almost 50 per cent share in the premium smartphone segment. The company also supports over 15,000 developers through its Bengaluru App Accelerator.
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Legacy of Apple Stores
The Apple Store was conceived under Ron Johnson, who was hired by Steve Jobs in 2000 after returning to Apple in 1997. When Jobs returned, Apple was on ventilator support and needed an investment from Microsoft to salvage it from the brink of bankruptcy.
Johnson, who was a senior vice president at US retail giant Target, led the team that opened in 2001 in Tysons Corner, Virginia. A year later, when the first Apple Store opened in SoHo, New York City, it became the first outlet with the famous Genius Bars. By 2003, Apple also opened its famous Regent Street store in London.
But it was only in 2006 that the famous Glass Cube design was created by Apple’s former chief design officer, Sir Jonathan Ive, which debuted with the Fifth Avenue store in New York. It was the store that set the tone for the original iPhone, as it launched just a year before the most famous product in consumer electronics history. It is also the only Apple Store that remains open 24×7.
In 2009, the spectacular 40,000-square-foot Covent Garden store opened in London, becoming the largest Apple store at the time. It is one of the most impressive and biggest Apple Store ever.
Johnson also parted ways with Apple after Jobs’ death. After John Brown’s forgettable stint as head of retail, Tim Cook surprisingly brought in Burberry’s then-CEO, Angela Ahrendts, who revolutionized retail and online stores. His vision and execution transformed the store into a vibrant town square in 2018 leading to the creation of the Apple Online Store and innovative ‘Today at Apple’ sessions.
Since Ahrendts’ departure in 2019, Deirdre O’Brien is now taking this business to unprecedented heights. Under his dynamic leadership, spectacular new stores have opened in Marina Bay and The Dubai Mall.
The design language of the Apple Store is extraordinary, with common elements appearing across the board. They embrace transparency with extensive use of glass, which is evident from the iconic Fifth Avenue store to Marina Bay, Singapore, Dubai and of course Mumbai.
The stores also contain a large amount of steel, as seen in the Mumbai unit. Perhaps the most important element is that they brilliantly capture the history and zeitgeist of the city in which they are located.
In Paris, the Champs-Élysées store is housed in a beautifully restored 19th-century building that blends the old with the new. A similar pattern is evident in the London stores.
Taking inspiration from Mumbai’s vibrant culture and incorporating design elements from across India, Apple has transcended itself with the Mumbai store. The store in Delhi, Apple Saket, reflects the gated city that New Delhi was once known for.
These stores also display their local charm. For example, at the Mumbai store preview, I got a custom tote bag and stickers. They offer niche products, but also offer better and more personalized customer support. They also reveal the true potential of Apple Care+, an important part of Apple’s services business. Apple Saket also has its own custom tote bags and swag.
A Genius Bar appointment can help with everything from setting up a device, recovering an Apple ID, selecting an AppleCare plan, or modifying a subscription. These Genius Bars made Apple famous for setting the standard for customer service in the consumer electronics industry worldwide, but Apple has not been able to replicate the same in India as its devices were sold and serviced by third parties. This changes for Delhi and Mumbai customers.
The fact that the two stores are at Jio World Drive in Mumbai and Select City Walk in Delhi also highlights how Apple is mastering the balance between being an aspirational and premium brand, while appealing to the masses. is also doing Jio World Drive is home to most luxury brands, while City Walk is a mall for the public. Both are important in equal measure.
The overwhelming response is a testament to why these stores are so important to Apple. They build on top of the legend of a brand that has become one of the most important and well-known gadget makers of the last 50 years. At the launch of Apple BKC, the Jio World Drive had over 5,000 people and one customer even brought an original Macintosh and presented it to Tim Cook. Customers in Delhi queued up outside Select Citywalk mall in sweltering 40-degree heat before it opened at 10 am on Thursday. There were customers who brought their iMacs, original iPhones and iPads, and some even divebombed and touched Tim Cook’s feet.
If the legend was being made in India in the last 25 years – the legend will be truly cemented in the next 25 years as Apple ramps up local manufacturing and now has its stores. One last piece of Apple Services play now is Apple Pay which is hopefully coming soon.
Sahil Mohan Gupta is Founder, Warpcore and Editor, Technology, Echo Drive. Thoughts are personal.
(Editing by Anurag Choubey)