Apple’s first Apple Store in India is expected to open its doors between January and March next year, if all goes to plan, according to The Economic Times, which claims the delay to the store’s grand opening, which was originally scheduled for 2022, is due in part to delays with interior fitting and other supplies being delayed due to the pandemic.
The Economic Times reported in July that Apple would miss its target of opening its first Apple Store in India by the end of 2022, claiming that the company had planned to open the 22,000 sq ft Mumbai store in the Jio World Drive shopping mall in August-September 2022.
Should all go to plan with the launch in Mumbai, the news source claims that a second flagship store in India could launch in in New Delhi at Select Citywalk mall in Saket, spanning 10,000-12,000 sq ft which is currently in the construction phase.
Apple confirmed to The Indian Express last year that due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the opening of India’s first-ever Apple Store had been postponed until 2022, but no further updates have been shared to acknowledge the obvious second delay to that schedule.
Apple stepped up its retail efforts in India in 2020, expanding the official online Apple Store to bring its full range of products and support directly to customers across the country for the first time, cutting the reliance on Apple’s network of third-party sellers to handle sales and support in the country.