Indian software conglomerate Tata Group plans to open 100 Apple stores nationwide selling only Apple Inc products.
According to the report, Infiniti Retail, owned by Tata Group, which operates the consumer electronics retail chain Croma, will become an authorized Apple reseller and will open stores in shopping malls, boulevards, and neighborhoods.
Tata has begun talks with premium malls and high streets, and the terms of the lease include details of brands and stores that cannot open near these outlets, said retailers who are aware of the problem.
Apple and the Tata Group did not immediately respond to requests for comment by phone or email to Reuters.
The latest developments come less than two weeks after the Economic Times reported that Tata Group is in talks to buy Wistron Corp’s sole manufacturing plant in India for up to 50 billion rupees.
Bloomberg reported in September that Tata and Taiwan’s Wistron, one of Apple’s top suppliers in India, were in talks to set up a joint venture to assemble iPhones in India.
