Customer surprises Apple CEO with 1984 Mac as company opens first India store

Apples chief executive Tim Cook on Tuesday launched the iconic consumer technology companys first retail store in India welcoming customers into the facility inside a mall in suburban BKCThe energy creativity and passion in Mumbai is incredible We are so excited to open Apple BKC our first store in India Cook who opened the doors of the store for customers tweetedHundreds of customers had queued up since last night to be among the first ones to shop or get a feel of the store which comes 25 years after the company first started selling its products and services in the country through partnersDressed in a blackt and grey pants and accompanied by the companys senior vice president for retail Deirdre OBrien Cook opened the doors of the store to walk into a crowded foyer to pose for the media and then started welcoming customers into the storeCustomers took selfies with Cook sought autographs and exchanged pleasantries before going in One among them a designer from Mumbai carried his nearly fourdecadeold Mac a product which revolutionised personal computing and established Apple as a strong brand with a design focus with himI brought this just to show Apples journey from 1984 This is the first Mac SE which was launched in 1984 I have been using Apple products since 1984 Long journey it has been said the designer from suburban Goregaon who had joined the queue at 6 am on Tuesday and got more than just selfies and simple pleasantries with the Apple top executivesI have been here since last night 8 pm been camping outside the Apple store for about 15 hours now I havent had breakfast havent had a shower and you can see us all drenched in sweat But yeah we are super excited said the first customer to go in who wished to buy an Apple watchThe second customer to enter the shop took a flight from Rajasthan and joined the queue at 830 pm and credited this to his love for the brand and also spelt out his aim of being present in New Delhi for the Apples Saket outlet opening on ThursdayAt present Apple accounts for just 3 per cent share in the highly competitive smartphone market dominated by Chinese and Korean brands but has lately seen high growth in sales which establishes Indias importance The company is also keen to expand sourcing of products or components from the country as it looks to diversify its supply chain beyond ChinaAlso readMumbai Water supply to be restored from April 23The company employs 2500 people in the country and has indirectly helped create 10 lakh jobs through its app ecosystemExcitement around the store had started to build since Apple announced the launch of two stores in India over a week ago It had opened the Mumbai store whose theme is inspired by the citys iconic kaalipeeli or black and yellow taxis for a media preview on the eve of the launchApples key beliefs in sustainability and inclusivity have driven the design of the store OBrien had told reporters on Monday pointing out that the 100strong team which will be on the floor will be speaking 18 Indian languagesNearly half of the staff at the store including the leadership are women she had said adding that while a lot of features are at par with hundreds of such stores spread the world over the company has also included Indian influences in the deacutecor like a wall made up of Rajasthani stoneA staircase with a 14metre single piece glass on either side of the stairs is the key highlight of the store spread over 20000 square feet over two floors in the Jio World Drive mall which also houses brands like Diesel Michael Kors Kate Spade and SwarovskiThe store has products merchandise and services like repairing the gadgets available for customers executives said adding that the customers will be able to check out the products and can also educate themselves on how to use them optimallyLike in any other store there are long wooden desks on which the products have been kept which also include specially built sensors that trigger the opening of switchesApples maiden retail store in the country has been a subject of great speculation since at least 2019 when the Indian policymakers warmed up to the idea of welcoming foreign direct investment in single brand retail The permissions to allow such stores have come with riders like mandates on local sourcing in the final finished goodsEarlier the Cupertino USbased tech major was reportedly looking at a space in central Mumbai before narrowing down on the current location owned by a company led by richest Indian Mukesh Ambani which has also been a distributor of Apples products for some timeThe company has leased out the space in the mall for a 11 year contract and has been successful in negotiating for barring 22 competing brands including Amazon Facebook Google LG Microsoft Sony and others from occupying space or advertising in close vicinityAs per reports the company will be paying Rs 42 lakh per month as a rental for the store and will also share a part of the revenues with the 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