 "Apple BKC store, Photo: Shivani Shinde")
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.
Mumbai store and Delhi Store
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.
