Apple Inc. (AAPL) to Open Retail Stores in India?

Apple Retail Store India

Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) opened its first retail stores in the US long ago, giving customers a whole new retail experience, allowing them to use the devices hands on, try out the products and provide them with help if needed. Now, over a decade later, AAPL is opening up retail stores all around the world.

Apple has branched out to China, London, Japan, and many other countries. However, in a recent report from Indian business newspaper, Mint, it was mentioned that Apple is looking to increase their presence in India and is looking to open a number of retail stores in major retail districts.

Apple Inc. may open its own shops following the Indian government allowing full ownership of single-brand retail stores by foreign companies, according to a senior official of the department of industrial policy and promotion (DIPP).

The maker of the iPad and iPhone has been in discussion with the department for some time and is keen to re-enter Indian market after an earlier bid to do so in 2006, said the official on condition of anonymity.

The report also suggests that Apple went ahead with plans to make stores in India after the Indian government decided to eliminate ownership requirements, which previously required retail stores such as Apple Stores to have at least 49% domestic investment.

However, problems remain, with Apple being forced to source 30% of their product value from small businesses in India. Regulators are willing to address the requirement based on the guarantee of whether Apple will be moving their retail presence to India. Mint’s report also suggested that Apple attempted to open a tech support call center in India in 2006 in order to expand its presence but later drew back the effort and scrapped the idea.

However, if Apple were to open retail stores in India, a large influence of Apple products would spread across the east, starting with China, which is a large part of Apple’s international profits.

{via MacRumors}

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