Mumbai, April 18; Apple CEO Tim Cook enthusiastically welcomed a large crowd of people and first customers as he opened the company’s first branded retail store in India on Tuesday. The store, located at Mumbai’s bustling Bandra Kurla Complex (BKC) financial, arts, and entertainment district, at the Jio World Drive Mall, is the first of several planned retail stores in India, followed by one in New Delhi, and is expected to fuel Apple’s growth in the region.
Cook came out from the Mumbai retail store and took selfies with the first Apple buyers who came in big numbers. “Apple BKC is a reflection of Mumbai’s vibrant culture and brings together the best of Apple in a beautiful, welcoming space for connection and community,” said Deirdre O’Brien, Apple’s senior vice president of Retail.
The store will offer a special Today at Apple series, ‘Mumbai Rising’, which will run from Tuesday through the summer, featuring free sessions that celebrate the local community and culture. These sessions will bring visitors, local artists, and creatives together and will offer hands-on activities featuring Apple products and services.
Apple BKC is designed to be one of the most energy-efficient Apple Store locations in the world, with a dedicated solar array and zero reliance on fossil fuels for store operations. The store is operationally carbon neutral, running on 100 percent renewable energy. The ceiling is made up of 1,000 tiles, each consisting of 408 pieces of timber, with over 450,000 individual timber elements assembled in Delhi. Upon entering the store, customers are greeted by two stone walls sourced from Rajasthan and a 14-meter-long stainless steel staircase connecting the ground level and the cantilevered mezzanine. The store features more than 100 team members who collectively speak over 20 languages.
