NEW DELHI: According to people with knowledge of the situation, Apple CEO Tim Cook is likely to travel to India this month for the opening of the iPhone maker's first company-owned store here as well as to meet important ministers to discuss strategic issues like manufacturing expansion and exports.
As per sources, if the visit happens, it might involve a meeting with Prime Minister Narendra Modi as well.
Cook had gotten to know the PM during his earlier trip to the nation in 2016. The Cupertino, California, headquarters of the US technology company is finalising Cook's India itinerary, and the opening date of the store in Mumbai would be chosen in accordance with that, they said.
Deirdre O'Brien, senior vice president of retail and human resources for the company, is also most likely to travel with Cook this time, according to insiders. Cook had met CEOs, Bollywood superstars, watched a cricket match, and reviewed Apple's India business on his first visit in 2016.
The Jio World Drive Mall location of Apple's upcoming Mumbai store, which is anticipated to open in the second half of this month, displayed its facade on Wednesday. The distinctive Mumbai kaali-peeli taxi art served as inspiration for the store's appearance.
According to industry experts, the opening of the Mumbai store will be swiftly followed by the opening of a store at Delhi's Pick Citywalk mall, perhaps possibly this month. They claimed that the façade of the Delhi store was also completed.
For more than six years, Apple has continuously had one of its strongest performing markets in India. In the three months leading up to December 2022, the corporation saw record-high national sales.
According to IDC data, Apple sold around 6.7 million iPhones in India in 2022, an increase from 4.8 million units in 2021 and 2.7 million units in 2020. The corporation uses three Taiwanese contract manufacturers - Foxconn, Wistron, and Pegatron - in Tamil Nadu and Karnataka to make iPhones in the nation, including the most recent iPhone 14.
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