Tech giant Apple is marking a major expansion of its India footprint with the launch of its first flagship retail store in Mumbai on Tuesday, April 18. Located in Mumbai's Bandra Kurla Complex, the store is tipped to be the most sustainable of Apple stores worldwide — it boasts of a dedicated solar array and zero reliance on fossil fuels for store operations; Apple BKC is operationally carbon neutral, running on 100 percent renewable energy, the company said.

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CEO Tim Cook is scheduled to be present for the Mumbai launch — though his presence has yet to be confirmed. The event also marks 25 years of Apple's operations in the country. Apple will open its second store in New Delhi on April 20, and has unveiled its barricade for the outlet named Apple Saket.

Apple BKC occupies 22,000 square feet of prime real estate in Mumbai's Jio World Drive. The store has beautiful glass facades which extend to a nicely done wooden ceiling. It also has a triangular handcrafted timber ceiling that extends beyond the glass façade to the underside of the exterior canopy. Apple says 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.

Also read: Excitement builds as Delhi gears up for its first Apple Store

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, the company added.

As soon as one enters the store, one will encounter tables where Apple products are placed so that customers can experience the products.

Apple Saket will open its doors to customers at 10 am on April 20. Currently the only teaser is the facade that covers the storefront, which is based on Delhi's many cultural gates that signify Delhi's rich cultural heritage. The colourful facade also has a QR Code on it which can be scanned to get information about the upcoming store and also to download the Apple's Delhi wallpaper. A specially curated playlist based on sound of Delhi can also be accessed on Apple Music through this QR Code.

Apple has earlier said that Apple BKC and Apple Saket flagship stores are pivotal to turbo charge Apple's future growth in strategic markets like India.

Also Read: Apple’s India sales near $6 billion as Tim Cook begins retail push

First Published:Apr 17, 2023 5:46 PM IST