Photos and video clips have been shared of Tim Cook opening the Apple BKC store in Mumbai earlier today – including his surprised and delighted look when a customer turned up with an early Macintosh. Update: Apple’s official photos added to the end of the post.
Apple yesterday showed off the store in a set of photos, and it’s definitely high up there in the rankings of the most beautiful Apple Stores …
The rumors were correct that CEO Tim Cook would be attending the opening of the first Apple Store in India, and he this morning tweeted a photo (above), with retail head Deirdre O’Brien by his side.
The energy, creativity, and passion in Mumbai is incredible! We are so excited to open Apple BKC — our first store in India.
Video clips show Cook welcoming the first visitors to the store, including one who brought with him an early Macintosh. CNN incorrectly identifies it as the original Macintosh; from the somewhat fuzzy view we get of it, I think it’s a Macintosh SE (Update: Confirmed by one of the official photos). Cook looks suitably pleased to see it!
As we noted yesterday, the store design is spectacular.
The most striking element of the design is a beautiful timber ceiling, which seamlessly transitions from interior to exterior – and is mirrored beneath the cantilevered upper floor.
Apple BKC features a triangular handcrafted timber ceiling that extends beyond the glass façade to the underside of the exterior canopy, reflecting the unique geometry of the store. Each tile is made from 408 pieces of timber, forming 31 modules per tile with a total of 1,000 tiles that make up the ceiling. There are over 450,000 individual timber elements, all of which were 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.
We also explained that today has been a very long time coming!
In a bid to boost the manufacturing sector in the country, the Indian government banned anyone from opening single-brand stores unless a high percentage of the products sold within it were made in India.
Apple has been involved in tough negotiations with the government for many years on this issue, but it’s only after it significantly increased iPhone assembly within India that it was finally granted the necessary permits.
India is expected to be a key bright spot in next month’s Q2 earnings call.
Here are the photos Apple shared from the event:
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