The Tata Group is gearing up to open 100 small, exclusive Apple stores across India, according to a report by The Economic Times citing people familiar with the conglomerate's plans.
Apple is said to tie up with Tata-owned Infiniti Retail for the venture.
Infiniti Retail, which runs the Croma chain of stores, will become an Apple franchisee partner under the agreement.
DH independently could not verify the report.
The Apple Authorised Reseller outlets of 500-600 sq ft each would be located in malls and other affluent locations. These outlets will be smaller than the 1,000 sq ft+ Apple Premium Reseller stores, and will mostly sell iPhones and iPads. The larger stores, meanwhile, will have the entire line-up of Apple products, including MacBooks.
The development comes ahead of the opening of the iPhone-maker's first company-owned flagship store in Mumbai in the March quarter.
Apple saw its global iPhone revenue soar to a record $42.6 billion with the new iPhone 14 driving quick sales in India. A report by CyberMedia Research (CMR) pointed out that iPhone volumes in India grew by 44 per cent quarter-on-quarter in the July-September period to 1.7 million units.