Inside Nothing's First India Store: Why Carl Pei is Betting on 'Rawness' Over Retail Norms

Nothing launched its first retail store in Bengaluru, India, outside London, marking an important chapter for a brand that initially operated online-only. The Nothing Store Bengaluru has its own blueprint for offline success in India, and to talk in detail about it, we sat down with Nothing CEO Carl Pei ahead of the store's official launch.

Pei stressed that Nothing isn't chasing sales because it isn't the most important thing. But whether people are engaging with the space. Nothing's first flagship store in India is located at Indiranagar, Bengaluru. The company has also confirmed that it will open stores in New York City and Tokyo after India. For those unaware, Nothing's first store is located in London. The store spans over 5,000 square feet and houses both Nothing and CMF products and merchandise.

On the Indian Market and Retail Strategy

Pei discussed how India is one of the largest markets for Nothing. "A lot of our users are here, and within India, Bangalore is where most of our users are. So it's just natural that we started here."

Talking further on the support from the Indian government to the industry, Pei said, "The government is clearly on a mission to make India the forefront of the consumer tech industry. The progress has been tremendous. India has all the right types: the domestic market is very strong, the growth is here, and organisations are looking in."

On being asked about future investment plans and more stores in India, he added, "We are definitely investing more and more into the ecosystem here. This store is another proof point of that. Our recent news is a signal of our seriousness about the market."

Touching upon Nothing's retail strategy going forward, Pei said, "Offline stores are not only important for sales, but also for brand reach and trust. It's good to know that these people are here in case you have a problem with your product. It shows that you're serious."

On highlights of the Bengaluru store, he stressed, "We didn't want to just create another store. Whether people are engaging with a space—are they taking photos, are they sharing—could be more important than just the pure P&L financials of the store."

Talking about what channel will become more crucial for brands in India, considering a lot of brands have launched physical stores lately, he said, "Long term, all businesses will normalise, meaning that whatever is the best user experience would always win. For any brand here, it will be a mix of online and offline."

Store

"Everybody Just Copied Apple": Carl Pei on Reimagining the Tech Store Experience Talking about how Apple began something that others just copied, Pei explained, "After Apple made Apple Stores, everybody just copied Apple. It got really boring again for 20 years. When we developed our new store concepts, we landed on the idea that maybe sales are not the most important thing. But whether people are engaging with the space."

He stressed, "The store is more like a representation of the brand. We draw a lot of inspiration from our R&D process and our factory. For instance, there's a conveyor belt. When the user buys a product, they can come out of the conveyor belt as if this is the final leg of the factory."

Touching upon CMF and the brand's evolution, he said, "The success of Nothing and CMF in India is probably the fact that people are looking for more aspirational brands. People are walking away gradually from this pure value for money."

On being asked what's next, he responded, "Things we do today only manifest like 18 months from now, so we should have some patience. The things we're seeing today are ideas from at least one and a half years ago."

On AI and Why Nothing is Skipping the Foldable Trend

On being asked about AI being more than a buzzword in 2026 and whether we will see some breakthroughs, Pei responded, "I think 2028, that's when we're going to see some real user experience breakthroughs. Just incremental changes are nice, but I think we might see a breakthrough in 2028. It might be like a moment in time, similar to when the world went from feature phones to smartphones."

On operating systems, he added, "I think there needs to be a rethinking of the operating system. Taking a standard icons-based locking home screen and adding intelligence on top of it is incremental."

Pei also said that Nothing never worked on foldables, "We never worked on foldables. We never believed in foldables. The average age of our users globally is 26, while in India it is 24. If you look at the users who buy the foldables, they're like 45 years of age. Personally, I just can't live with a crease."

From Conveyor Belts to Content Studios: What's Inside Nothing's First India Store

The store is designed to represent the company's Universe and draws inspiration from the brand's R&D process and manufacturing roots rather than a traditional retail store look. A standout feature on the bottom floor of the store, where products are delivered to customers on a moving belt, symbolising the "final leg of the factory" after manufacturing.

The Nothing Store Bengaluru includes "metaphorical" R&D testing stations where visitors can see simulations of how products are stress-tested, including a water jet to demonstrate waterproofness, a USB port tester that simulates hundreds of thousands of plug-ins, and a scratch test area. Notably, there is a dedicated studio space specifically designed for the Nothing community to shoot high-quality unboxing videos and social media content.

The store also includes a community lounge. A space in the upstairs area is intended for community gatherings, where visitors can grab a drink, hang out, and engage with the brand.

The storefront is unique as it houses a massive metal "Fly" display, which is part of the brand's signature insect-themed imagery since its inception, and has become a landmark for the store. To celebrate their title sponsorship, the store is featuring 2025 Royal Challengers Bengaluru merchandise during the launch.