2016
Apple’s retail expansion efforts to start 2016 have been focused on China, where it has opened five new stores in Xiamen, Nanjing, Guangzhou, Shenyang, and Qingdao since the beginning of the year. Apple now has 33 retail stores in Greater China, which includes China, Taiwan, and Hong Kong, and it is quickly approaching its goal of 40 new stores[1] in the country.
China is Apple’s second biggest market by total revenue after the Americas. The company recorded $18.3 billion revenue in Greater China in the first fiscal quarter of 2016[2], compared to $29.3 billion revenue in the Americas. China, which has a population of nearly 1.4 billion, could eclipse the U.S. as Apple’s biggest market as early as 2017 if the growth continues.
Qingdao, China
Apple opened its 33rd Chinese retail store in Qingdao[3], a port city bordering the East China Sea, on Saturday, January 30, 2016 at 10:00 a.m. local time. The store is located in the new MixC shopping mall on 6 Shandong Road in the city’s coastal Shinan District.
MixC Qingdao is the largest luxury shopping mall in China, with over 400 popular fashion stores, dining restaurants, cafes, and entertainment facilities, including an indoor theme park with a rollercoaster. The mall also includes an Olympic size ice skating rink and the most expensive cinema in China with IMAX and 4D.
Guangzhou, China
Apple opened its 32nd Chinese retail store in Guangzhou[4] on Thursday, January 28, 2016 at 10:00 a.m. local time. The store is located in the Parc Central retail development at 218 Tianhe Road in the city’s Tianhe District.
Parc Central serves as a major public transit hub for Guangzhou. The retail development resembles an urban park above ground, where the Apple Store is situated, while the underground level is accessible via China’s metro system and bus network.
Nanjing, China
Apple opened its 31st Chinese retail store in Nanjing[5], the capital city of Jiangsu, on Saturday, January 16, 2016 at 10:00 a.m. local time. lThe store is located in the IST shopping mall at 100 Zhongshan Road in the city’s Xuanwu District.
Xiamen, China
Apple’s 30th Chinese retail store opened in Xiamen[6], a major port city along the Taiwan Strait, on Thursday, January 14, 2016 at 10:00 a.m. local time. The store is located in the SM Lifestyle Center shopping mall at 399 Jiahe Road in the city’s southeastern Siming District.
Shenyang, China
Apple opened its 29th Chinese retail store in Shenyang[7], the capital city of Liaoning, on Saturday, January 9, 2016 at 10:00 a.m. local time. The store is located in the MixC Shenyang shopping mall at 288 Qingnian Street in the city’s Heping District. Shenyang is located about 250 miles northeast of Dalian, China.
2015
Apple began an aggressive push into China in 2015 under the leadership of retail chief Angela Ahrendts. The company opened a dozen new Chinese stores throughout the year, including the first two locations in Hangzhou and a fifth store in Beijing. Apple also opened new stores in Chongqing, Dalian, Hong Kong, Nanjing, Nanning, Shenyang, Tianjin, and Zhengzhou.
Elsewhere, Apple opened its first two Middle East retail stores in Abu Dhabi and Dubai in the United Arab Emirates. The first Apple Store in Belgium also opened in Brussels in September, the same month as new Florence, Italy and redesigned One Infinite Loop locations opened. Meanwhile, New York City gained two more stores alongside one new store in both Australia and Brazil.
Many of the locations are based on Apple’s next-generation store design inspired by chief design officer Jony Ive. The new layouts generally include a combination of light boxes extending the length of the ceiling, indoor trees, touch-sensitive sequoia wood tables, new wide shelves for Beats headphones and other accessories, and large digital screens for product marketing.
Nanning, China
Apple opened its 28th Chinese retail store in Nanning[8] on Saturday, December 12, 2015 at 2:00 p.m. local time. The store is located in the MixC Nanning shopping mall at 136 Minzu Avenue in the city’s Qingxiu District and features Jony Ive’s next-generation store design.
Beijing, China
Apple opened its fifth retail store in [9]Beijing[10], and 27th in China, on Saturday, November 28, 2015 at 10:00 a.m. local time. The store is located in the Chaoyang Joy City shopping mall at 101 Chaoyang North Road in Beijing’s Chaoyang District. The brightly lit location is based on Apple’s next-generation store design adopted in 2015.
Chengdu, China
Apple opened a new two-floor retail store in Chengdu, China[11], a major city in Sichuan, on Saturday, November 21, 2015 at 10:00 a.m. local time. The store is the 26th in China and the second in Chengdu, alongside an existing Apple Store at the MixC Chengdu shopping mall.
The new Chengdu store is located in the upscale Sino-Ocean Taikoo Li shopping center at 8 Middle Shamao Street in the Jinjiang District, where several high-end retailers such as Gucci, Omega, and Zara are located. The store is open everyday between 10:00 a.m. and 10:00 p.m. local time.
Abu Dhabi and Dubai, United Arab Emirates
Apple opened its first two Middle East retail stores in Abu Dhabi and Dubai[12], the two most populous cities in the United Arab Emirates, on Thursday, October 29, 2015. The stores filled a large regional gap, as the nearest Apple Stores were previously located several hours away by plane in Istanbul, the largest city in Turkey.
The new Apple Store in Dubai is located at the Mall of the Emirates, a large multi-level shopping mall with more than 600 retail outlets, 100 restaurants and cafes, 80 luxury stores, an indoor ski resort and snow park, a 500-seat theater and more. Meanwhile, the Abu Dhabi store is located inside the similarly luxurious Yas Mall.
Dalian, China
Apple opened its 21st Chinese retail store in Dalian[13], a major port city in Liaoning, on Saturday, October 24, 2015 at 9:30 a.m. local time. The new store is located in the six-floor Parkland shopping mall at 19 Jiefang Road in the city’s Zhongshan District, and its layout is similar to other shopping mall locations.
Dalian, a city of 4 million people with a total of over 6.5 million people in the region, is located on the Liaodong Peninsula separating the Bohai Sea from Korea Bay in northeastern China. It is a major seaport, financial center and tourist magnet for the region, drawing significant numbers of visitors from China, Japan and Korea.
Nanjing, China
Apple opened its first retail store in Nanjing[14], the capital of Jiangsu, at the Wonder City shopping mall on Saturday, September 19, 2015 at 10:00 a.m. local time. The store has a very wide layout and does not have an Apple logo at front and center, a move that is believed to help distinguish real Apple Stores from counterfeit ones in China.
Brussels, Belgium
Apple’s new retail store in Brussels[15], the first in Belgium, opened on Avenue de la Toison d’Or to long lines. Apple CEO Tim Cook tweeted a photo from the grand opening, which occurred on Saturday, September 19, 2015 at 10:00 am local time. The store was the first to feature a Jony Ive-inspired design with large and virtually seamless curved glass panels on the facade and sequoia wood tables and shelves inside.
Florence, Italy
Apple opened an iconic retail store in Florence, Italy[16] on Saturday, September 26, 2015 at 10:00 a.m. local time. The store is situated in the picturesque Republic Square, known locally as the Piazza della Repubblica, and marks the first location in Florence and the 16th overall in Italy.
Hong Kong
Apple’s fourth retail store in Hong Kong[17], located at 100 Canton Road in the region’s upscale shopping area of Tsim Sha Tsui, held its grand opening on Thursday, July 30, 2015 at 9:00 a.m. local time.
The multi-floor Canton Road location is one of the biggest Apple Stores in Asia, with a large panelled glass facade, and marks the fourth store in Hong Kong alongside Causeway Bay, Festival Walk, and IFC Mall locations.
Miranda, Australia
Apple’s only new Australian retail store in 2015 opened its doors in Miranda[18], a suburb of Sydney in New South Wales, on Saturday, July 25, 2015 at 10:00 a.m. local time. The store is located at the Westfield Miranda shopping center.
The new Miranda location marks the ninth store in New South Wales, joining the existing Bondi, Broadway, Castle Towers, Charlestown, Chatswood Chase, Hornsby, Penrith, and Sydney retail stores. Apple now operates 22 stores in Australia.
Queens, New York
Apple’s first retail store in Queens, New York[19], located in the Queens Center shopping mall in the Elmhurst neighborhood, held its grand opening on Saturday, July 11, 2015 at 10:00 a.m. local time.
The new Queens store is Apple’s 8th retail outlet in New York City, with six other stores in Manhattan and one on Staten Island. Apple has not yet opened retail stores in Brooklyn or The Bronx.
Manhattan, New York
Apple opened a new retail store in the Upper East Side[20] of Manhattan, at the time its 7th location in New York City, on Saturday, June 13, 2015 at 10:00 am local time. The store is located at 940 Madison Avenue, on the corner of 74th Street, occupying a former banking complex built in 1921 that most recently housed luxury retailer VBH.
The building itself offers a large amount of space, featuring a 4,000-square-foot ground level and 1,000-square-foot mezzanine. Apple leased the building in early 2014 and the site had been under renovation for at least 18 months prior to the store opening. The location is one of the first to be based on Jony Ive’s next-generation store design.
Hangzhou, China
Apple opened its second retail store in Hangzhou, China[21], located in the MixC Hangzhou shopping mall in the city’s Jianggan District, on Friday, April 24, 2015 at 9:00 a.m. local time. The grand opening coincided with the very first Apple Watch launch day, and occurred less than three months after Apple opened its first store in Hangzhou, called West Lake.
São Paulo, Brazil
Apple’s second retail store in Brazil opened in São Paulo[22], the most populous city in the country, on Saturday, April 18, 2015 at 10:00 a.m. local time. The new store is located in the Morumbi shopping center at 1089 Roque Petroni Junior Avenue in the neighborhood of Vila Gertrude, joining Apple’s first retail store in Brazil that opened at the Village Mall in Rio de Janeiro in February 2014.
Shenyang, China
Apple opened its first retail store in Shenyang[23], the capital and largest city in Liaoning, China, on Saturday, February 28, 2015 at 10:00 a.m. local time. The multi-floor store is located in the Zhongjie Joy City shopping complex. YouTube user Leopold Fan shared a video of the store’s grand opening[24] festivities.
Tianjin, China
In time for the Chinese New Year in 2015, Apple opened its first retail store in Tianjin, China[25] on Saturday, February 7, 2015 at 10:00 a.m. local time. The store is located at the Tianjin Joy City shopping center in the city’s Nankai District. Apple released a new Chinese ad called “The Song” around the same time.
Chongqing, China
Apple opened a flagship retail store in Chongqing, China[26] on Saturday, January 31, 2015 at 10:00 am local time. The store is located at the city’s Jiefangbei Square, and features a large, cylindrical glass structure that hides a staircase down to lower levels of the retail space — much like the Fifth Avenue store in New York City.
Hangzhou, China
Apple’s first retail store in Hangzhou, China[27], called West Lake, opened on Saturday, January 24, 2015 at 9:00 a.m. local time. Apple celebrated the grand opening with a calligraphy video[28] featuring artist Wang Dongling. The brightly lit, two-floor design with large glass panels gives the store flagship status.
Zhengzhou, China
Apple’s first retail store opened in 2015 was at the MixC Zhengzhou shopping mall in Zhengzhou, China[29] on Saturday, January 10 at 10:00 a.m. local time. The store is located on the mall’s second floor next to clothing store Calvin Klein. The store has a traditional earlier-generation shopping mall design without an Apple logo as an anti-counterfeit measure.
References
^ 40 new stores (www.macrumors.com)
^ first fiscal quarter of 2016 (www.macrumors.com)
^ Qingdao (www.macrumors.com)
^ Guangzhou (www.macrumors.com)
^ Nanjing (www.macrumors.com)
^ Xiamen (www.macrumors.com)
^ Shenyang (www.macrumors.com)
^ Nanning (www.macrumors.com)
^ fifth retail store in (www.macrumors.com)
^ Beijing (www.macrumors.com)
^ Chengdu, China (www.macrumors.com)
^ Abu Dhabi and Dubai (www.macrumors.com)
^ Dalian (www.macrumors.com)
^ Nanjing (www.macrumors.com)
^ Brussels (www.macrumors.com)
^ Florence, Italy (www.macrumors.com)
^ Hong Kong (www.macrumors.com)
^ Miranda (www.macrumors.com)
^ Queens, New York (www.macrumors.com)
^ Upper East Side (www.macrumors.com)
^ Hangzhou, China (www.macrumors.com)
^ São Paulo (www.macrumors.com)
^ Shenyang (www.apple.com)
^ video of the store’s grand opening (www.youtube.com)
^ Tianjin, China (www.macrumors.com)
^ Chongqing, China (www.macrumors.com)
^ Hangzhou, China (www.macrumors.com)
^ calligraphy video (www.macrumors.com)
^ Zhengzhou, China (www.apple.com)
Taken from:
Apple Stores Roundup