Apple Chief Executive Officer Tim Cook was received in the capital with large crowds and a line-up of high-profile meetings. Mr. Cook on Thursday morning attended the inauguration of Apple Saket, the second store that the company now directly runs in India, a milestone it has reached after years of struggling with local sourcing norms that relegated most Apple products to third-party storefronts.
After donning a polo tee and jeans for the Saket store launch with a mix of Indian Apple retail staff, (who appeared to be joined, at least for the opening, by some staff from abroad), Mr. Cook suited up for a more stately appointment: a meeting with IT and Railways Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw in the evening.
Mr. Vaishnaw posted a clip from Rail Bhawan. The Minister showed off a framed picture of the Chenab Rail Bridge to Mr. Cook, noting it was 30 metres taller than the Eiffel Tower. (“That’s special,” Mr. Cook remarked.) The video was shot on an India-assembled iPhone, Mr. Vaishnaw said.
[EMBED: https://twitter.com/ashwinivaishnaw/status/1649022853403262977]
Mr. Cook’s visit marks a milestone for the Cupertino-headquartered iPhone maker: enough of its products are now assembled in India for it to open retail storefronts, the way it does in its home country, Europe, and in China, among many other countries where Apple was able to open its own stores long before in India.
Apple product sales have been growing healthily in India, by upwards of 45% in the financial year 2021–22. While premium handsets like iPhones remain out of reach for most people in the country, India is emerging as a market for Apple to at least dedicate a sales region and organise high-profile visits like Mr. Cook’s this week.
Apple has also been able to leverage India’s growing focus on domestic electronics manufacturing. Minister of State for Electronics and Information Technology Rajeev Chandrasekhar, who has vocally pushed semiconductor and handset manufacturing efforts, met Mr. Cook shortly after his arrival in Delhi; next to the Apple CEO was Naveen Tandon, the Head of Policy and Strategy for the firm in India.
Mr. Vaishnaw’s statement after meeting Mr. Cook on Thursday reflected these priorities. The two men discussed “deepening Apple’s engagement in India across manufacturing, electronics exports, app economy, skilling, sustainability and job creation especially for women,” the Minister said in a post, accompanied with a picture of him handing a miniature Vande Bharat train model to Mr. Cook.
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