Navkendar Singh Archives ~ My Mobile India

HIGHLIGHTS 1. Apple Stores in India are generating record billings for the company. 2. The Apple BKC store saw opening-day billings of over Rs 10 crore. 3. Despite half the size, Apple Saket in New Delhi has generated similar revenue since its opening. Apple opened its first official store in April in India. The first Apple Store in Mumbai’s Bandra-Kurla Complex (BKC) opened its doors to customers on April 18. Another Apple Store followed it in New Delhi’s Saket, which was opened on April 20. The new Apple Stores offer a unique customer experience, such as Today at Apple, access to Genius Bar and experiencing all Apple products available for sale in India. Customers are getting attracted to the physical Apple Stores in India if the first month’s sales report is to be believed. A new report claims that Apple stores in India generate record revenue for an electronics store. Apple’s first two official stores in India have combined grossed monthly sales ranging between Rs 44-50 crores. The report, citing two industry executives aware of the details, claimed that the recorded gross revenues are over two times what could be the highest revenue for an electronics store in the country during the non-Diwali period. Apple Stores in India were inaugurated by CEO Tim Cook in April. The Apple BKC store saw a billing of over Rs 10 crore on the first day, according to the report. This is reportedly Rs 2-3 crore more than some major local electronic stores post in a month. While Apple BKC did generate record billings and sales for Apple in India, the smaller Apple Saket store fared better when it came to per-square-foot revenue. Apple BKC is about 22,000 squar Apple BKC feet, whereas the Saket store is over 10,000 square feet. The report stated that despite being more than half the size smaller than the BKC store, the Saket store recorded similar revenues for Apple. Both stores also had a footfall of over 6,000 people each on the opening day, according to a recent report. Apple BKC is already among the top 10 Apple-owned stores by sales globally. That being said, it would be interesting to see if the company can see similar billings as the hype dwindles over the coming months. The India Apple Stores have reportedly exceeded the company’s internal expectations. “The two company-owned Apple Stores in India are setting new benchmarks in terms of absolute and per-square feet revenue,” said one of the executives cited above. “This is due to the fact that the average selling price (ASP) of Apple products is much higher, which leads to higher revenue, and (since) footfall is still high, with both stores remaining crowded on any given day,” the report, citing one of the two industry executives, added. The presence of official stores in India will also likely push the iPhone’s ASP to over $1,000 (roughly Rs 82,500) from the current ASP ranging between $935-990 (roughly Rs 77,100 – Rs 81,700) for the offline market. When it comes to e-commerce, the ASP is said to cross $950 (roughly Rs 78,400), a $100 rise compared to last year, according to IDC India associate vice-president Navkendar Singh. According to Singh, the rise in ASP is expected to be due to Apple Stores not giving too many discounts and offers. Monthly sales of Rs 25 cr each! Apple's India stores hit it out of the park Apple's new stores in Delhi and Mumbai have grossed monthly sales of more than Rs 22-25 crore each, The Economic Times (ET) reports. Industry experts have said that the figure is around twice the sales of an electronics store in the country during the non-Diwali period. This makes Apple Store the largest electronics retailer in the country in terms of revenue. The Apple Store in Mumbai was opened on April 18, and in New Delhi two days after that. CEO of Apple, Tim Cook, was present at the inauguration of both stores. The Mumbai store is in Jio World Drive, located at Bandra Kurla Complex. Apple BKC reported a first-day billing of more than Rs 10 crore, around Rs 2-3 crore more than some of the largest local electronics stores can do in a month, the ET report said. Even during the festive season's prime, large electronic stores in India can do Rs 3-5 crore in sales at their best. This signifies the popularity and demand for Apple devices despite their higher prices. However, looking at revenue generation per square foot, the store in Saket, New Delhi, takes the cake. Apple Saket is over 10,000 square feet, large as it is, but it is less than half compared to the store in BKC, Mumbai, which measures 22,000 square feet. The Mumbai store is double the store in Delhi, but the two stores generated similar revenues, ET reported. According to reports, the monthly rent for the store in BKC, Mumbai, is Rs 42 lakh, while the rent for the store in Saket, Delhi, is Rs 40 lakh. How is Apple doing it? People aware of the industry trends were quoted in the report, which said that the two Apple stores could set new sales records because the average selling price (ASP) of Apple products is much higher. This leads to higher revenue, and given the following of the Apple brand, both stores remain crowded almost every day. The experts added that the sales from Apple Stores exceeded the company's estimates. Associate vice-president of market research firm IDC India, Navkendar Singh, says that the iPhone's ASP in India in the calendar year 2022 was $935-990 through offline channels; the figure stood at $890 for online sales. With the two Apple Stores in the picture, iPhone's overall ASP will likely cross $950. This figure is separate from the 18 per cent GST applicable on smartphones. Indian market and Apple The Indian smartphone market is identified as price-sensitive, looking for the biggest bang for its buck. Given this background, it will be interesting to see if the two stores can sustain their sales numbers. A market expert said sales would obviously go up during an iPhone launch, and if Apple decides to allocate higher inventory to its stores, the sales at stores will only go up. This is significant since there was a higher demand and relatively low supply of iPhones at the time of launch. Faqs on Apple Retail Store 1) What is the size of the Apple Retail Store in Mumbai & Apple Retail Store in Saket Delhi ? Ans) The 22,000-sq.ft. flagship store is coming at Reliance Industries’ Jio World Drive mall. The Delhi store, meanwhile, in Select Citywalk Mall in Saket will be spread over 10,000 sq.ft. 2) How many apple retail stores are there in the world ? Ans) Apple has over 500 retail stores in major parts of the world, including Dubai, New York, Istanbul and London. 3) How has Apple financial graph been in India ? Ans) Apple sold 2 million iPhones in India in the holiday quarter (Q4) of 2022, registering 18 per cent growth (quarter-on-quarter) for its flagship device. The India market share of iPhones reached 5.5 per cent for 2022, an 11 per cent growth (year-on-year). Also Read: Apple’s first retail store Apple BKC in India is opening in Mumbai and this is what it looks like: Store Location, First Look Also Read: Apple BKC opens April 18 and Apple Saket opens April 20

Navkendar Singh

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