Apple opens its first India retail store in Mumbai

Apple opened its first retail store in India on 18 April, welcoming customers to Apple BKC in Mumbai’s Bandra Kurla Complex. Tim Cook and retail chief Deirdre O’Brien joined the store’s team for the opening.

Historical company photograph, not the Mumbai store. Photo: Apple logo on an iMac. © Håkan Dahlström, 2010 (CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons). Resized and cropped.

A second location is still to come. Apple Saket in Delhi is scheduled to open on 20 April at 10 a.m. IST, two days after BKC. The openings will give Apple its own physical stores in two of India’s major cities.

At BKC, customers can try products, get help choosing devices and collect orders placed online through Apple Pickup. The store also offers advice on trading in older devices. Apple’s preview of the Mumbai location says its team has more than 100 people who collectively speak over 20 languages.

The opening also begins Mumbai Rising, a programme of free Today at Apple sessions running through the summer. It brings local artists and other creatives into the store for hands-on activities with Apple products.

Apple says BKC runs entirely on renewable energy and is carbon neutral in its operations. Its design includes a timber ceiling that extends outside the glass frontage, stone walls sourced from Rajasthan and a staircase connecting the ground floor with a mezzanine.

Apple’s been operating in India for more than 25 years. The Mumbai store adds a place where customers can buy directly from the company and get product advice in person.