Apple to rev up festive sales with online store in India

New Delhi: Apple appears to be eying a fair share of the festive sales in India this year as the iPhone maker is planning to make its long planned online store in the country a reality soon, the media reported.

While there was no official confirmation yet from the company, a Bloomberg report on Tuesday said Apple is preparing to open the online store in the country as early as next month.

Soon after the Prime Minister Narendra Modi's cabinet decided to ease the 30 per cent local sourcing norm in single-brand retail (SBRT) last year, Apple that the company was eager to serve Indian consumers "online and in-store with the same experience and care that Apple customers around the world enjoy."

"We appreciate the support and hard work by Prime Minister Modi and his team to make this possible and we look forward to one day welcoming customers to India's first Apple retail store," the company said.

The earlier requirement for foreign companies to source 30 per cent of production locally was believed to be the primary reason why Apple chose to sell its products in India through third party sellers for this long.

Apple had originally planned to start online sales within months of removing this restriction, but the Covid-19 pandemic reportedly played its part in delaying those plans, MacRumors reported. Apple, which has already started manufacturing certain iPhone models in India, has reportedly already worked out locations for its retail stores in the country as well.