Nothing becomes the fastest growing brand, he says the Bengaluru store is not just for sales and the 4A series will take this level further
Nothing is expanding its retail presence in India with the launch of its first offline store in Bengaluru. Additionally, no one wants to change the way retail is thought about. Rather than just being a pure transactional game, Nothing wants it to be a place where its community can come together and celebrate whatever and everything it creates, or at least that’s the impression we got after talking to Nothing’s co-founder Akis Evangelidis.
On February 14, in the heart of India’s Silicon Valley, the air was not filled with Bengaluru’s usual summer humidity. It was charged with the kind of electric anticipation usually reserved for rock concerts or high-stakes sporting events.
By 9:00 am, the queue outside Nothing’s first Indian flagship store had grown to approximately 1,000 people. For Akis Evangelidis, co-founder of Nothing, the scene was as humbling as it was shocking.
“We were expecting 450 people,” Evangelidis told India Today Tech in an exclusive interview. “But by 9 am we had about 1,000 people present. If it’s a product launch, I guess it could be justified, but it was just a store opening. This level of passion for the brand definitely gives us a lot of energy.”
The opening of the 5,032-square-foot, two-storey experiential center marks a significant moment for the London-based startup. This is their second global flagship following the success of their Soho location in London. But more importantly, it serves as a physical manifesto for a brand that wants to prove it’s the only true “aspirational alternative” to Apple.
a community center
In an era where retail is rapidly moving towards e-commerce, nothing is leaning where others are leaning. The Bengaluru store is not designed as a high-pressure sales floor. It is an extension of the aesthetic soul of the brand.
“It’s not so much about store sales,” explains Evangelidis. “We don’t want to make it a very transactional, commercial thing. The primary goal is to create a platform where we can connect with our community and also a place where people can really understand the brand.”
The layout reflects this philosophy. While the ground floor showcases the brand’s one-of-a-kind aesthetic choices replete with the dragonfly showpiece that symbolizes “Hope”, the second floor houses a dedicated content studio. Here, community-verified members – who have demonstrated a genuine connection with the brand – can book a time slot to shoot unboxing videos or creative content.
“There’s no need to buy a product,” Akis says of the studio. “They just need to be verified. It’s about an experiential space that covers everything that’s important to us: content, community, craftsmanship and art.”
While shopping online, in-store pick-up is still in development with no one eyeing direct-to-consumer (D2C) operations in the future, the current focus is solely on “feel”.
story of india
The growth of anything in India has not been fast. According to data released by IDC, in 2025, the brand emerged as the fastest growing player in the sector, registering an astonishing growth of 45 percent year-on-year. For Evangelidis, the growth of Nothing and the development of the Indian economy are inextricably linked.
“The story of India and the story of Nothing go hand in hand,” he says. “The Indian economy is growing rapidly. Within the next two to three years, it will be the third largest economy in the world. People want to buy from aspirational brands.”
Evangelidis points to a fundamental shift in the Indian consumer psyche. For a decade, the Indian market was treated by smartphone brands as a “value for money” playground – a race to the bottom in terms of specifications and price. Akis believes those days are over.
“Initially, India was seen as a very valuable market focusing on the exclusivity race. But this is really not sustainable (in 2026),” he says. “Market data shows that premiumization is growing rapidly, with average points of sale increasing every year. We are a challenging branding alternative (to Apple) for those who want something unique.”
He warned that brands built solely on “value” will struggle to survive this shift. “For brands that have initially built entire brand equity based on value for money, I think it will be extremely challenging for them to be successful in this.”
2026 strategy
There will be no Nothing Phone 4 flagship in 2026. While competing brands introduce flagship models annually to keep equity high, Nothing sticks to a disciplined two-year cycle for its top-tier devices. Evangelidis believes that a flagship should be a “cut-through device” and that it requires time to experiment and improve.
However, this does not mean that 2026 will be a quiet year. Far away from. Attention has turned to the highly successful “A-Series”.
“The 4A series, especially the 4A Pro, will be further enhanced,” Evangelidis revealed. “For those looking for a very strong device in terms of performance – the 4A Pro will be a great choice this year.”
By doubling down on the mid-premium segment with a “Pro” variant of its most popular line, Nothing is positioning itself to capture the demographic of young India – users who demand flagship level self-expression and user experience without the need for a ₹1 lakh price tag.
Despite the grandeur of the Bengaluru flagship store, Nothing is abandoning its digital roots that have made it a cult favourite. Instead, it is taking a balanced omni-channel approach.
Last year marked a turning point where offline sales overtook online for the first time. To leverage this, the brand has expanded its presence to 10,000 physical touchpoints across India, with an ambitious target of reaching 15,000 stores in the near future.
“It will be equally important to be strong both online and offline,” claims Akis. “Although our offline presence was lacking early last year, we addressed it as a key strategic priority.”
Evangelidis sees India not just as a consumer market, but as a technology hub that is currently at the forefront of the industry.
“I am extremely optimistic,” he says. “The work done over the last 10 years has been tremendous. Events like the India AI Impact Summit, which the whole world is talking about, reinforces the role India plays in innovation. This naturally leads to even more opportunities.”
As Nothing enters its sixth year, the upstart looks more settled than ever. With a new physical home in Bengaluru and a Pro phone on the horizon, the message is clear: Nothing is just selling a gadget, it’s selling an identity. In a market saturated with value, one can’t bet that the Indian consumer is finally ready for something that feels like something fresh.
