Apple’s ‘exclusive zone’ at Reliance Jio World Drive in Mumbai wont allow 22 competitive brands to advertise and sell

Apple’s soon-to-be inaugurated first retail store at Reliance Jio World Drive in Mumbai lease agreement reveals something new. This is about Apple mentioning the name of 22 technology, electronics, and e-commerce brands whose presence around the store won’t be allowed by the company. This lease agreement has been accessed by data analytic firm CRE Matrix in which the company has specified the name of these 22 competitive brands which include Amazon, Facebook, Google, LG, Microsoft, Sony, and Twitter which should be kept out of Apple’s exclusive zone. It means these brands won’t have any stores, advertisements,s or hoardings in this exclusive zone.

As per the agreement “The licensor will not give on the license, sub-license, lease, sub-lease, or any other arrangement nor allot any of the brands listed as ‘Competing Brands’ to occupy any space for setting up of retail stores for retailing, advertising, selling, offering, displaying and merchandising their products and services within the area of the shopping center depicted on exclusivity zone”.

Other promises

Apple has signed this lease for 11 years with a 15% rent escalation provision every three years. As a minimum guarantee, the company will pay Rs 42 lakh for the space and on top of it 2% of the revenue share for 36 months and 2.5% revenue share after that.

Is there anything new in the agreement

Devangshu Dutta, founder of retail consulting firm Third Eyesight in a statement made to the Economic Times said that it’s not new to ask for the exclusion of competitive brands but the unusual part is having a long list of companies.

This Apple retail store will be its first retail store in India and the second will be opened later in Delhi’s Select Citywalk Mall. It is likely to see the same exclusive zone thing in the agreement.