Sam Oliver
Apple is set to open five new Chinese outlets in the next five weeks as the company prepares for an influx of shoppers during the Spring Festival, retail chief Angela Ahrendts revealed this week, with four of those outlets in cities that do not currently house an Apple Store.
"We are opening five new stores before the Chinese New Year this year. Four of the stores are in brand new cities for us," Ahrendts said to state-owned news agency Xinhua. That follows CEO Tim Cook's commitment last October to open 25 new outlets in the next two years.
Ahrendts noted that meeting demand while maintaining Apple's current standard of customer service will be a challenge, especially given the massive number of consumers in the Chinese market. The company's current flagship store in Shanghai is the busiest in the world — Â outpacing even Apple's well-known Fifth Avenue location in New York — Â drawing over 25,000 visitors each day.
The former Burberry CEO also revealed some interesting data about Apple's sales infrastructure in China. The company now has more than 3,700 retail employees in the Greater China region, which includes Taiwan and semiautonomous Hong Kong, a number that has grown by 75 percent since 2012.
Apple's online store shows strong growth as well, with an 80 percent increase in sales last year. "The fastest growing store for us is the Apple Online Store in China," she said.
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12 Comments
I forget she was there she's been so low profile ... unless I missed something. Good to see she's up and running.
Apple's number aways blow my mind. Apple's Shanghai store has over 25,000 visitors per day! It's just hard to fathom. I read stuff like this and the future looks so bright, I can't figure out why the stock isn't making huge jumps by the day. (I understand and agree that the overall market is higher than the economy might warrant, being driven by big money chasing the only place where they can generate returns).
Apple's number always blow my mind. Apple's Shanghai store has over 25,000 visitors per day! It's just hard to fathom.
Just wonder how many visitors the best Microsoft store draws on the highest day ...
[quote name="AppleInsider" url="/t/184337/apple-retail-svp-angela-ahrendts-briefly-talks-china-expansion-strategy-sales-growth#post_2661813"]The company now has more than 3,700 retail employees in the Greater China region,?which includes Taiwan and semiautonomous Hong Kong, [/quote] Uhh, except that there aren't any Apple Stores on Taiwan.
[quote name="bugsnw" url="/t/184337/apple-retail-svp-angela-ahrendts-briefly-talks-china-expansion-strategy-sales-growth#post_2661820"]Apple's number aways blow my mind. Apple's Shanghai store has over 25,000 visitors per day! It's just hard to fathom. I read stuff like this and the future looks so bright, I can't figure out why the stock isn't making huge jumps by the day. [/Quote] That is a lot of people! The problem with the stock is that much of Apples business is now in areas that I like to call trendy. The public can and does loose interests in cell phones real fast. Just look at Samsungs crash. [Quote] (I understand and agree that the overall market is higher than the economy might warrant, being driven by big money chasing the only place where they can generate returns).[/quote] Actually world wide the economy is in the crapper, the USA is cruising along doing far better than many other major economies in the world. So when you look at the stock market there is huge concern for multi national companies and their ability to continue to generate income and new customers. One big feature Apple has going for it is their post PC concept. I'm thinking they have turn the cell phone into a platform that is as important as the PC was to businessman a decade or more ago. IOS has quickly become the OS of choice just as Windows did all those years ago. So at least part of Apple iOS business has transformed from a fashion statement and thus trendy business into a important tool for business. Given this reality, iPhone and the like are more resistant to sudden shifts in consumer interests. The problem is that isn't all of Apples market.