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Alphabet Inc’s Google is close to deciding on locations in its key market of India where it will open its first physical retail stores outside the United States, three sources familiar with the matter said. Google counts India as a key growth market, where it has committed to investing $10 billion. It currently has only five physical stores, all in the United States, which sell its products such as Pixel phones, watches, and earbuds. It is aiming to mirror a retail approach that helped Apple Inc. rake in billions of dollars in the past two decades by showcasing its own products. Apple has 500 plus stores worldwide. Google is in advanced stages of finalising locations in or around the capital of New Delhi, and the financial capital Mumbai, said three sources, who declined to be named as the process is confidential. Google declined to comment on the matter. The first source said the stores are likely to be around 15,000 square feet, and will take at least another six months to open, though the timeline could change. The IT hub of Bengaluru in south India was also considered, but New Delhi and Mumbai are the frontrunners, the person added. “The idea is to compete with Apple . . . especially to target the luxury segment,” said the person, adding more stores will be considered if the initial ones do well. Google currently sells it products in India through authorised retailers, as does Apple. But in 2023, Apple CEO Tim Cook visited India to open its first company-run stores in Mumbai, and then in New Delhi. Pixel phones in India cost from about $370 to $2,000 for top-end models. Apple’s iPhones cost from about $520$2,130. Google has also started making Pixel smartphones in India. In 2024, Apple dominated the local market for premium phones, priced above $520, with a roughly 55% share, compared with Pixel’s 2% share, research group Counterpoint said. The fast-growing Indian market has about 712 million smartphone users currently. Google’s plan to open the stores is firm and will be executed soon, there are some standard regulatory and compliance processes to clear before the stores can be set up, said the second source, without elaborating on the issues. A third source said one of the possible locations Google is considering near New Delhi is in the satellite city of Gurugram, where many global corporations such as Uber and Meta have offices and the likes of Uniqlo have retail outlets. In India, Google is battling many regulatory and legal challenges. Among them are ongoing antitrust cases related to its in-app billing system and abuse of market position in the market for smart TVs. In a top-level departure, Google lost its India head of public policy this month, marking the second departure in around two years from the critical role which is key to government engagement. Aditya Kalra, Reuters
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David Beckham is entering the $152 billion supplement industry with IM8, a health and wellness brand launched in partnership with Prenetics.
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Lithium and other elements that the U.S. needs for vital defense, energy, and other applications could become harder to obtain if the Trump administration goes ahead with tariffs and other protectionist policies aimed at China.China refines more than 90% of the global supply of so-called “rare earth elements,” which include neodymium and dysprosium. Not actually rare, these 17 elements are difficult to mine and refine because they’re not often found in concentrated deposits. Some elements, like lithium, are usually mentioned along with rare earth elements, because they are also critical for the tech sector.Without them, cellphones wouldn’t vibrate and computer hard drives wouldn’t operate. They’re used in wind turbines, electric cars, and other industries the U.S. has sought to develop.The U.S. imports more than 80% of its rare earth elements, with most of those imports coming from China. A trade war impacts cellphone and other tech companies making their products in China when they have to ship those products to the U.S. and pay an import tariff.President Donald Trump imposed 10% tariffs on all Chinese imports to the U.S. earlier in February. That was on top of existing tariffs on specific Chinese goods dating back to Trump’s first term. China has since retaliated with up to 15% tariffs on a range of U.S. goods and more export controls on elements critical to the production of modern high-tech products.Development and growth plans for smartphone makers, renewable energy companies, and the broader technology sector all depend in part on access to rare earth elements. Apple has been increasing its use of recycled materials for its batteries and devices to help lower its need for newly mined and refined materials.Demand is only expected to grow over the next few decades, especially with advances in computing power and artificial intelligence technology.The International Energy Agency expects total demand for rare earth elements to surge 72% to 134 kilotons between 2021 and 2030. Supply requirements are expected to rise at roughly the same rate, but the total amount would lag demand at 98 kilotons.Rare earth metals have been behind some recent geopolitical issues as the U.S. and other nations try to access sources outside of China. The U.S. is the world’s second biggest producer of rare earth metals, with about 12% of the global total.President Donald Trump’s pitch to acquire Greenland comes amid climate change that is expected to make more of the Arctic island’s resources available. Melting ice is expected to make rich deposits of rare earth elements, lithium, and other natural resources more accessible.Trump has also mentioned future aid deals with Ukraine, another source of rare earth elements. Damian J. Troise, AP Business Writer
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