iStore, a premium reseller of Apple products, has officially opened its first store in Zambia at a cost of about R20 million in order to provide local Apple users with service and support.

iStore commercial director for the Southern African Development Community (SADC) Chris Dodd said at the launch of the store in the country's capital Lusaka that people also experienced challenges in accessing Apple products because iStore did not have a presence in the country.

The Zambian store was supposed to have been launched in December last year but was postponed because of logistic issues including the late delivery of stock.

"iStore decided to invest in Zambia because of the conducive business environment, which offers great potential to grow the business," Dodd said.

iStore has 23 stores in several countries in Africa including Botswana, Mozambique and Namibia.

Customers will receive complimentary in-store services including technical support, software installation and in-store product setups and training.

MacBook, MacBook Pro, iMac, iPad, iPod, iphone, Apple cables, adaptors and Beats headphones are some of the products that are being sold in the Zambian store.

iStore Zambia manager Brian Mweemba told ITWeb Africa that plans are underway to expand and set up branches in other towns around the country. "A feasibility study on the opening of a branch on the Copperbelt has already been conducted. But the expansion depends on the sales and how people respond to our products here in Lusaka," he said.

Although Mweemba could not confirm the size of Apple's customer base in Zambia, he did reiterate the growing popularity of the gadgets and the need for local technical support and service.