Apple to open first retail store in India by 2021

Apple is on its way to India to open its first brick-and-mortar store by next year.

The company’s plans for India were revealed by the Chief Executive Tim Cook at Apple’s annual shareholder meeting in California while responding to the query of a shareholder. He also said that the company will initiate the online sales of its products in the country later this year.

“We needed to get approval from the government to go in there ourselves” rather than with a domestic partner, Cook said. “I don't want somebody else to run the brand for us.”

The CEO didn’t give out many details regarding the physical store during the meeting but the Cupertino-based mobile giant has been in contact with the Indian government for a while now discussing the subsidies and the ease of import duties before opening its stores in the country.

Apple was supposedly expected to launch the online store somewhere between January and March of 2020 as the Indian government eased the Foreign Direct Investment regulations last year. But soon there were reports of Apple postponing the online store plans for India pointing out logistical reasons.

There’s also news of Cook visiting India between June and July this year to take stock of India business and to put forward the expansion plans including manufacturing, exports and the rollout of both online and physical stores.