[RahulNagaraj]

It's been more than 20 years since Apple opened its first official retail store in the world. But it is only now that the first Apple Store in India is coming up. It is actually a big thing for Apple and if reports are to be believed then CEO Tim Cook is expected to visit the country to mark the momentous occasion. It’s now official that Apple’s first Store is coming to India with Mumbai’s BKC as the confirmed location. In typical Apple style, the Apple Store is not just about the products but about the overall experience that Cook and co. want India to see and feel.

It’s all about the customers

At the beautiful Marina Bay Sands Apple Store — or known as Apple MBS — there is a couple in their 70s listening attentively to the “Today At Apple” session. Apple organises sessions daily to inform and educate users about the features of its products among other things. The couple is curious as the session is all about the iPhone camera and have a ton of questions as they are planning a vacation soon. The person conducting the session has patience in abundance and answers all questions and tells them — and many others — about how to get the best out of the iPhone camera.

It is this experience and many others that Apple will soon bring to India.

Walk into any Apple Store and you can see how quintessential Apple it is. The attention to detail, and the design aesthetics are quite naturally in line with Apple's ethos. “We like to say our stores are where the best of Apple comes together — our products and services, our customers and team members. We design our stores just like we design our products — by putting the customer at the centre of everything we do,” Deirdre O’Brien, Apple’s senior vice president of retail, tells The Times of India-Gadgets Now.

O’Brien has a point. All the store employees are given a rigorous amount of training — and it is an almost year-round process — about how to deal with customers. So even if you are casually browsing in any Apple Store, you will perhaps get one person to come up to you and ask if you need any help. Depending on your answer, you get the experience. For instance, you say “I am just browsing” and you will be left alone for as long as you are in the store and till you actually seek help. Hang around for as long as you want (psst, there’s free Wi-Fi at all Apple Stores) and you won’t be bothered at all.

You will notice that there aren’t any cash registers or counters where you have to stay in line to do the billing done. That’s because every Apple Store member is equipped to handle the payment and billing. It is something you have to experience.

In my personal experience, I have actually once walked in an Apple Store to buy an iPhone. I knew what model, colour, and variant I wanted. It took flat 150 seconds for the entire transaction and I was on my way out. The whole experience is ultra smooth and super fast if you want it to be. And then there’s the other side as well. Want to spend your time looking at every product on offer? Be Apple’s guest and it won’t be a problem as Apple wants you to experience not just the Store but its products.

The India story of Apple Store

In the last few years, Apple’s emphasis on the Indian market has grown multifold. Apple CEO Tim Cook has mentioned many times how Apple is “bullish” about India. During the Q1 quarterly call,Cook said how Apple did fairly well through the Covid-19 pandemic in India. “I’m even more bullish now, hopefully on the other side of it. That’s the reason why we are investing there by bringing retail there, bringing the online store there and putting out a significant amount of energy there. I’m very bullish on India,” Cook said during the call with investors.

It is something that O’Brien echoes. “We love our customers in India, and we’re really excited to be expanding here in retail,” she says.

Apple’s retail journey started with the Apple Store Online and O’Brien says that the company has connected with so many people across the country. “We’re so inspired by their energy, creativity, and passion. And we’re really looking forward to deepening those connections with our amazing retail team members helping customers get the most from their products and finding new ways to unleash their creativity,” she says.

O’Brien assures that the Apple Store experience will be at par with Apple offers across the world. “In everything that we do we lead with our values and here in India is no different,” she says. It is something that Prabhu Ram, head, industry intelligence, CMR agrees with. "Apple would seek to replicate the famed Apple retail experience – including, overall consumer experience, staff knowledge and expertise, and the service standards, amongst others - in India, and steer greater market growth in the years ahead."

In India, Apple is powering its facilities with 100% renewable energy and O B'rien says that it also be going further to support communities. Apple has forged partnerships to expand access to safe water and sanitation across the country.

Apple is also working with a conservation group to protect mangrove forests. And then there’s the Apple App Design and Development Accelerator in Bengaluru, which has helped thousands of local developers and entrepreneurs gain new skills and develop apps.

While the retail journey may be new, Apple has been in India for more than 20 years now. With the Store, O’Brien says that the idea is to bring the best of Apple to the customers in India. She says that Apple wants to create a seamless experience for its customers however they choose to shop with us. “Our talented team of Specialists are ready to connect with customers and support them at any stage of their shopping experience,” she says.

If you are wondering that it will come down to just a purchase, then no. Apple has Genius Bars — special tables meant to tell customers about options like Safe Data Transfer and Switching to iOS. There are dedicated teams whose job is to make it easy for customers to get set up and ready to make the most of their Apple device.

Once again, this isn’t a ‘forced’ experience at Apple. An employee will ask whether you need support or not and only if you want then you’re directed to a different space.

There was a time — not long ago — when people queued outside Apple Stores to buy new products or just experience it. The queues have more or less disappeared. Believe it or not, but the iconic “cube” store in New York — Apple Fifth Avenue — used to get more visitors than the Statue of Liberty or the hugely impressive Empire State Building. The queues are likely to be seen outside Apple BKC, at least initially when the curiosity about the Apple Store will be sky-high. Will Apple BKC get more visitors than the Gateway of India? Let’s wait and watch.

Source: TimesOfIndia

[Sebring]

What about service? Overseas GeniusBar is about service, original batteries etc. But there is no word on this in this lengthy press brief

Originally Posted by RahulNagaraj

applestore

[vb-saan]

Originally Posted by RahulNagaraj

You will notice that there aren’t any cash registers or counters where you have to stay in line to do the billing done. That’s because every Apple Store member is equipped to handle the payment and billing. It is something you have to experience.

In my personal experience, I have actually once walked in an Apple Store to buy an iPhone. I knew what model, colour, and variant I wanted. It took flat 150 seconds for the entire transaction and I was on my way out.

This is so true. I have not seen this kind of efficiency in any of the retail stores/brands – be it mass-market or on the luxury side. And the staff is so equipped to play it along depending on the customer needs/product awareness. Whether you are there to buy a latest iPhone, or an accessory (say a watch strap), the experience is the same. I was there (at Apple MBS) twice last month – first time to get an iPhone. Like the experience mentioned above, I was in and out of the store in around 2 mins. The second visit was to get a Beats earbuds. This time I was deciding between two options. The staff suggested to try the two options, connecting to my own phone and try listening back to back and decide. And after some cool 10 minutes of trial, I decided on one and the usual drill – package was handed over, and I was out in the next minute or so. While processing the bill she even did a check on possible corporate discounts.

The experience of booking a Genius Bar service is same – insane efficiency and you never feel rushed.

[Cyborg]

I believe abroad there is a facility to buy an iPhone (Apple product) and if you choose to return it within 14 days you may do so for an exchange or refund. I wonder if Apple will do the same here. The challenges in India will be huge but I hope they extend the same facility here.

Cheers

[warrioraks]

Originally Posted by Cyborg

I believe abroad there is a facility to buy an iPhone (Apple product) and if you choose to return it within 14 days you may do so for an exchange or refund. I wonder if Apple will do the same here. The challenges in India will be huge but I hope they extend the same facility here.

No chance this is happening, especially the refund offer.

Not only that, the experience shared by vb-san above where they allowed him to try different audio devices before purchasing, even that might not be available in the India store.

[Cyborg]

Originally Posted by warrioraks

No chance this is happening, especially the refund offer.

Not only that, the experience shared by vb-san above where they allowed him to try different audio devices before purchasing, even that might not be available in the India store.

I don’t think the refund offer will be offered here because of the anticipated amount of misuse. Just hope it is

I feel the try and buy will definitely be offered by Apple in India as it’s one of the things which is their unique selling proposition and not being offered by any third party resellers in India. They don’t have anything to lose by offering this except having multiple demonstration devices and staff.

Cheers

[Jeroen]

I have been to Apple stores all over the world. The look and feel is identical. They tend to have extremely well trained staff. Both in terms of product knowledge and how to deal with customers.

I will share my first Mac book buying experience in 2009 in Overland Park, a suburb of Kansas City, USA.

I bought my first ever Mac book here. Very nice guy, spend about 90 minutes with me going through all the various options and what have you. So I decided to buy it there and then. They would configure it for me. So I provided all my various passwords to set up the MacBook and the various apps and accounts. They could not get the my gmail account going. By this time it was 2100 hours and the store was about to close. So they tried to usher me out. I told them in no uncertain terms that nobody is going home till either my gmail is working or I get a full refund. In the end they brought a guy over from one of the other shops who got it all fixed.

The best and most impressive Apple shop I have been to is in Palo Alto. I am sure there are ven bigger ones, but this one was absolutely huge and very friendly staff. I bought my first Apple Watch there whilst Ona course at Stanford. Although they had helped me set it up, it was giving me problem. So after a few days I went back and explained the problems. The young lady that was helping me, listened very carefully, asked a few question. The she told me: the first things are going to do, is get you a new watch. Because your experience should be great and with your current one that is never going to happen. So she got me a new watch, set it up for me and it never gave me any problem.

The last time I bought something in an Apple shop was a few years ago in Dallas. My wife wanted a new iPhone. I was on a business trip to the USA so I decided to pop into one of the huge shopping malls and get one. There was a massive queue at the Apple shop. There were Apple staff out in front of the shop, taking your name and what you wanted to buy. Then they allocated you a time slot when you should get back into the queue, so you could buy your item.

Ultimately, apart from spending quite a bit of time intake queue, I was in and out of the Apple shop within minutes, with a new iPhone for my wife. Still, a bit of a surrealist experience. Where else would you queue for a long time, to be finally let in, spend almost a thousand dollars on a little box of electronics and be out in under five minutes?

Jeroen

[warrioraks]

Originally Posted by Cyborg

I feel the try and buy will definitely be offered by Apple in India as it’s one of the things which is their unique selling proposition and not being offered by any third party resellers in India. They don’t have anything to lose by offering this except having multiple demonstration devices and staff.

Hopefully yes.

I have experienced three Apple Stores till now. The experience in Singapore and Vegas was fantastic and both time I ended up making the purchase.
On the other hand, Dubai was just fine. It was around the time IPhone 14 was launch and it seemed the staff were overwhelmed with enquires and lack of stock availability. Ironically the experience with the gray market shop ended up way better.

Overall Apple’s official store in India is long time due and it would do good for them to minimise dilution of the experience they are known worldwide for.

I am also interested to know in their expansion plan to other cities. This store is a good start but till the time they are not present in all tier 1 cities at a minimum, it would be like a drop in the ocean.

[sahil624]

Has anyone been to the Apple Store in Mumbai? Is it operational yet?

[Cyborg]

Originally Posted by warrioraks

On the other hand, Dubai was just fine. It was around the time IPhone 14 was launch and it seemed the staff were overwhelmed with enquires and lack of stock availability. Ironically the experience with the gray market shop ended up way better.

I had a fantastic experience with the Apple Store in Dubai Mall, superb staff, courteous and knowledgeable. I got my AirPods Pro and Apple TV 4K from them.

Originally Posted by sahil624

Has anyone been to the Apple Store in Mumbai? Is it operational yet?

The store in Mumbai is not operational yet, I am sure there will be huge hoopla and announcements over social media and otherwise when they announce the date. I read somewhere it could be this month.

Cheers

[vredesbyrd]

Not sure about the stores but have had relatively good experience with the local reseller Unicorn

My first ever iPhone purchase was made back in 2015 from Snapdeal (back when it packed more than just street side clothing and adult objects. We bought 3 damn split ACs from them in 2017)

Pretty standard e-commerce biz in 2015. Order online, pray they deliver to Kanpur (e-commerce sites had an anti-UP thing going due to attacks on delivery guys) and then record unboxing video so that you have proof that they have sent an iPhone 5S and not a brick

Second purchase was of 12 Mini in 2021 and straight from Apple's site. Next day delivery, even for backwaters like Lucknow. Clean and efficient
Also got an okay discount for exchanging my Galaxy Note 9

However, my next two interactions (2022 and 2023) are purely physical store based and both with Unicorn, albeit at different locations:

1) 14 Pro at Unicorn Awadh Mall, Lucknow.
Fantastic discount on exchanging my 12 Mini. Helpful staff too. It's only that the data transfer took a while (not in anybody's control) and billing is slow, like really really slow. Took 30 min alone for billing

2) Air Pods Pro at Unicorn CyberHub, Gurgaon.
Only discount on HDFC cards (seriously, what's up with HDFC discounts on just about everything?). Paid the full price, good staff just like my previous experience.
Again, the downside was billing. Took 30 min again, just for the billing

Where I expect Apple Store to bridge gaps are:

1) Billing. This will probably be a very fast and seamless process. Maybe done under 5 min

2) The staff would be more focused instead of meandering between customers constantly

To be honest, the entry is way too late and should have been done a decade ago. I guess even Apple treats us like a third world country just like Toyota, Ford and Isuzu do

[am1m]

Originally Posted by vredesbyrd

I guess even Apple treats us like a third world country just like Toyota, Ford and Isuzu do

But we will reward them with huge crowds waiting to get in even before the store opens (a la IKEA), rave reviews about the experience, waiting periods for products, no mater the cost or markup and lack of service options, and a separate thread on Tbhp (again, a la IKEA!) that does some of their marketing department's job for them, that too directed at the matching target audience!

When there is no downside for a brand to treating their India market differently from their international one (and Indian brands do that too!), why would they have an incentive to change?

[vredesbyrd]

Originally Posted by am1m

When there is no downside for a brand to treating their India market differently from their international one (and Indian brands do that too!), why would they have an incentive to change?

I mean yes, there is no incentive but one can always hope for better (except Fortuner, it is a lost cause)

[aquarian1502]

Last month I purchased an iPhone at the Apple store located in Westfield Valleyfair Mall in Santa Clara, CA. Must say the experience of buying was super smooth. There is no concept of billing counter, the sales exec who is assigned to you helps out with everything.
They also helped in copying data from an older iPhone in less than 30 minutes as we opted for a trade-in.
I even got a screen guard installed at the store, a small device that applies the screen guard and the outcome is 100% bubble free.
The other store that I visited was in Apple Park at their corporate headquarters in Cupertino, one of the best designed spaces I have ever been to.

[Lord-Lannister]

I would be significantly more excited if the new Apple Store is also equipped to handle the repairs for all of the Apple lineup, having experienced the Apple's third party repairs process in Mumbai, it's slow and tedious.

Have personally visited London's Regent Street store, and the Genius Bar helped me out on my botched ram extension on my 2012 MBP purchased in Mumbai, fell in love with the international warranty then and there. Staff was fairly courteous and willing to help with fix, in spite of it being aftermarket update.

Days of user replaceable MacBook Pros are a distant memory now, ha.