A historic moment for Cupertino-based technology company Apple Inc. as its chief executive officer, Tim Cook, yesterday met with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, pledging to invest further across the South Asian nation as the company bolsters its manufacturing and retail activities.
As part of this week’s happenings with Apple, the company opened its first stores on Indian soil.
Warm welcome
“Thank you Prime Minister @narendramodi for the warm welcome. We share your vision of the positive impact technology can make on India’s future — from education and developers to manufacturing and the environment, we’re committed to growing and investing across the country,” Cook tweeted after meeting with the Prime Minister.
Modi also had a message for the Apple CEO, who also posted on Twitter, “An absolute delight to meet you, @tim_cook! Glad to exchange views on diverse topics and highlight the tech-powered transformations taking place in India.”
This is seen as a pivotal move of Apple for India. India is projected to surpass China as the world’s most populous nation by mid-2023, data from the United Nations said.
First stores
Cook’s visit to India is not the only history made by Apple recently. Two new Apple stores are now open in the Asian nation, one is an Apple BKC store in Mumbai that opened on Tuesday, and the other is the New Delhi Apple Saket store that opened today.
After a lengthy negotiation with the government, Apple was able to open its first official stores in India. The South Asian country requires at least 30 percent of a company’s production to be on its soil to qualify for store branches.
The second store, the New Delhi Apple Saket store however, is not as grand as the BKC store in Mumbai, but it has gained a lot of fans.
Also, its interior is still in line with Apple’s design language, featuring oak tables that display the company’s products and accessories.
“In a world of online shopping, #Apple manages to get everyone excited for its retail store. That’s the connect Apple has made with its consumers around the world,” tweeted former principal anchor for technology at Indian news media company NDTV and tech reviewer Roobina Mongia. She also shared a video of Cook in India.
Will still rely upon China
However, though Apple is investing big across India, analysts are saying it will still rely upon its “first love” in the years to come. That is, China.
Martin Yang, the senior analyst of emerging technologies at multinational independent investment bank and financial services company Oppenheimer & Co, said while there is potential for India to be “the next China” for Apple’s production, it could take as long as a decade before that happens.
Also, Nitin Soni, senior director at American credit rating agency Fitch Ratings, spoke with the media, saying, “It will take Apple years to diversify away from China. The country is still a very large pocket for Apple — not just in the assembly line, but the semiconductor ecosystem and testing as well.”
