Early this year, reports about Apple's plans to officially start their own retail stores in India, on the lines of the brand's other stores in countries across the globe, such as in the U.S, the UK, Germany, France, China and Japan began doing rounds. Apple presently sells their products through official Apple resellers, like Imagine and the iStore, which is owned by Reliance Digital. The brand, however, does not have a solely owned store in the country. Reports regarding Apple launching their own store in the country started when an unnamed official revealed that Apple Inc. may open their own shops following the Indian government's nod to the ownership of single-brand retail stores by foreign companies. The official went on to state that the iPhone, iPad maker has been in discussion with the department from sometime, now and is keen to re-enter the Indian market after an earlier bid to do so in 2006.
Apple to build up on their number of resellers in India
However, during Apple’s quarter earning call, Apple CEO, Tim Cook had shot down these reportsby stating that although India was a growing market, it is still a small one, at the moment. Hence, as of now they do not have plans in place to start a retail store in India. Though this may still be the case, according to a report by Macrumors who have come across a job listing from Apple it appears that the Cupertino brand is pushing for a major growth plan for their Apple Premium Resellers (APR) in India and in the process aiming to hire a National Manager.
The job description reads, “The Apple Premium Reseller (APR) program was designed by Apple to expand and improve the market coverage and customer experience. Apple Premium Resellers offer the complete range of Macs, iPods and iPhones, along with a full complement of software and accessories. There are currently 49 APRs in India with a significant growth plan for the future. The NM will lead the expansion of the APR coverage as per plan.”
To know more about the job description, click here. Though it beholds that Apple still does not have plans to launch their own retail stores in India, this could pave the way. If the venture is successful, the plans for a solely owned Apple Store may appear on the horizon sooner than later
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