Apple is finally going to open Apple Stores in India

The expansion is a long-overdue foray into one of the world's most successful emerging markets

(Getty)

Apple is set to launch a string of new Apple Stores in India, finally bringing an official retail presence to the country of 1.2 billion people.

Six Apple stores are set to open across India in time for the Diwali festival in November.

However, the Apple stores will be slightly different to those elsewhere in the world - Apple is in partnership with Croma, the consumer electronics subsidiary of manufacturing giant Tata.

The six locations will be at Croma's own stores, which will be refitted to give them the signature Apple Store design, complete with wooden tables.

The partnership is down to local laws, which say that foreign investors have to have a local partner to open up shops.

This is apparently what has held back Apple from opening shops in the past, but by partnering with an Indian company, they can get around the law.

Apple devices are already available through franchises and other electronics shops, but the Tata agreement finally allows them to set up shop officially.

According to the Times of India, Apple CEO Tim Cook and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi discussed the potential relaxation of these rules when they met last month.

Other than the Apple Store openings, the introduction of Apple Pay to India and the establishment of Apple factories was reportedly also on the agenda during the meeting.

India is a potentially huge emerging market for tech companies, so Apple has chosen a good time to establish their presence there.

1.7 million iPhones were sold in India in the last year, 600,000 more than in the previous year. There's an estimated 842 million mobile phones in India, so Apple will be hoping to increase their sales figures there even further.

The country is one of the best-performing emerging markets in the world, so Apple is far from the only major corporation looking to strengthen their Indian presence.