Apple Inc has finalized a short list of locations for its first retail store in India, people familiar with the plans said, as it redoubles its efforts in the fastest-growing smartphone market.
The iPhone giant has zeroed in on several upscale sites in Mumbai and plans to make a final decision in the next few weeks, said the people, who asked not to be named because the discussions are private.
The vetted spots are comparable to iconic Apple locations on Fifth Avenue in New York City, Regent Street in London or the Champs-Elysees in Paris, they said.
Apple has been prohibited from opening its own stores in India because it does not meet local sourcing requirements, but it is shifting manufacturing into India and is in talks with the government about its retail expansion.
Manufacturing in India would also allow the company to sidestep 20 percent tariffs on imported phones, making its devices more competitive.
“India is a very important market in the long term,” chief executive officer Tim Cook said after the company’s earnings report last week. “It’s a challenging market in the short term, but we’re learning a lot. We plan on going in there with sort of all of our might.”
Still, Apple continues to flounder in India.
Research firm Canalys estimated that the company’s shipments fell by more than 75 percent in the first quarter of this year, giving it only about 1 percent of the nation’s smartphone market.
“Its own retail store might be just what Apple requires to reinforce its premium image,” Canalys analyst Rushabh Doshi said. “A store just before the next launch will be the perfect timing for Apple to restart its Indian growth story.”
It is clear that Cook would not give up against Chinese firms that have come to lead the market.
“We have made some adjustments in India and we’ve seen preliminarily some better results there,” he said last week.
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