Apple to aid store inside a store outlets in India

According to a report on Friday, Apple is looking to penetrate the emerging smartphone market in India by striking building so-called "store-inside-a-store" locations across the second most populated country on earth. The company does not currently have an official Apple Store in the region.

Apple's India chief Maneesh Dhir and head of telecom business Sanjay Kaul are reportedly pushing hard to make inroads into smaller Indian towns by creating "stores-within-stores" with a number of local retailers. In all, Apple is said to be looking at 100 exclusive "standalone" stores that will operated under a franchise model. 

"Getting such space or investing so much on decor may not yield appropriate return on investment from small-town stores since sales cannot be at par with the stores at metros, even though Apple has committed a margin of 15-20% provided the sales targets are met," said a senior executive from one Indian retailer. "It sounds ambitious."