For some time now, the situation of Apple in the India, one of the largest consumer markets on the planet and with the greatest potential – but where, on the other hand, Apple’s penetration is almost nil, especially in the smartphone segment (the company’s most important and profitable). Apparently, Apple is moving the strings to try to reverse this situation in the not too distant future.
According to a report by Bloomberg, the Cupertino giant is preparing to inaugurate a Indian Apple Online Store still this year. The main intention, of course, is to sell iPhones directly in the country – something the company has never been able to do because of protectionist rules from the local government, which are now being relaxed.
More precisely, the Indian government demanded that at least 30% of the products sold by a company in the country be produced in local territory, a goal that Apple has never managed to achieve. Recently, however, this rule has changed: companies can now place on the account of 30% products produced in India for sale abroad – which Apple is able to do, considering the amount of iPhones produced in the country for sale in the rest of the world. world.
With that, Apple should – according to sources close to the subject – start online sales in India still in 2019. And more than that: with the relaxation of the rules, the way is open for the Apple to open its first official store in Indian territory; as rumors have brought, it should be built in 2020, in a place already defined in Mumbai.
If the company’s “official” entry into India will be of any value to increase the current 1% market share da Maçã in the local smartphone market… well, these are another five hundred, and we will have to keep following this story.
Tokyo
While Apple’s presence in India is taking its first steps, in the Japan the thing has been skipping forward since the last decade. Recently, Apple announced the opening of its ninth store in the Land of the Rising Sun, the fifth only in the capital Tokyo – this is the Apple Marunouchi, which will be inaugurated in next 7 day (a Saturday) at 10 am local time.
The new store will be located on the ground floor of the Mitsubishi building, in one of the busiest business areas in Tokyo – in addition, it is a few blocks from Tokyo Station, the main railway station in all of Japan. Apple Marunouchi will be the largest company’s retail space in Japanese territory.
A few weeks ago, Apple decorated the facade of the space with themed sidings, which form Japanese characters (kanji) while remembering the graphical representations of a railway network. There is still no information or photos about the interior of the store, but it is known that it will house all the equipment and experiences recently introduced by Apple – such as the sessions of the Today at Apple (which may already have its calendar checked, by the way), the huge LED screen and the renovated environment, using more wood and plants.
As more information about the new store comes out, we’ll of course inform you all.
via 9to5Mac
