A day ahead of the official opening, Apple Saket photos have been shared by the Cupertino company. This will be the second retail store in India, opening just two days after the spectacular Apple BKC.
CEO Tim Cook yesterday opened Apple BKC in Mumbai, and will likely do the same at Apple Saket in New Delhi. Sadly, this one looks far less impressive …
Background
You know how it is, you wait years for an Apple Store in India, then two come along one after the other.
The lengthy wait was caused by the Indian government’s insistence that a company must manufacture around 30% of its products within the country if it wants to open a single-brand store. The law was essentially created specifically to target Apple, Samsung, Microsoft, and a handful of other tech giants.
Apple was involved in extensive negotiations on the details of this, and finally managed to get official go-ahead. The end result is the opening of Apple BKC yesterday, and of Apple Saket tomorrow.
Apple Saket photos
As before, Apple has shared preview photos the day before opening. While the BKC store looks architecturally stunning, the Apple Saket photos appear to show a far more ordinary mall store. It’s also notable that Apple mentions only two design features: a “curved storefront” and a wall made in India – the former not even meriting a photo to show it off.
The rest of the announcement is the standard verbiage applying to any new store.
Apple Saket will be a welcoming space for customers to shop Apple’s incredible lineup of products and services, receive exceptional support from team members, and participate in free Today at Apple sessions to learn how to get the most out of their devices.
“We’re thrilled to bring the best of Apple to our customers in Delhi with the opening of our second store in India, Apple Saket,” said Deirdre O’Brien, Apple’s senior vice president of Retail. “Our incredible team members look forward to connecting with the local community and helping them find new ways to pursue their passions and unleash their creativity through our amazing products and services.”
Apple Saket welcomes customers through a uniquely designed curved storefront with white oak tables displaying Apple’s products and accessories, as well as a feature wall manufactured in India. The store features a dedicated Apple Pickup station which makes it easier for customers to order online and collect their devices in-store at a convenient time. Like all Apple facilities, Apple Saket and Apple’s operations in India run on 100 percent renewable energy and are carbon neutral.
Still, not every new store design can stand out. Apple needs to be in a suitably central and upmarket location, and if the mall itself doesn’t provide opportunities for anything more than AN Other store, then there’s not much the company can do about it.
The store opens at 10 a.m. IST tomorrow, April 20. Check out the photo gallery below.
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