Apple Inc. (Cupertino, Calif.) plans to open five new Apple Stores in China before the Feb. 19 Chinese New Year, four of which will be located in new cities for the tech giant, Apple’s retail chief Angela Ahrendts told China’s state-owned news agency yesterday.
Ahrendts said the additional units will bring the number of Chinese Apple Stores to 20 – halfway to ceo Tim Cook’s target of 40 stores in China within two years.
Greater China, which includes Taiwan and Hong Kong, is Apple’s next big market, reports Fortune, noting that the region generated nearly $30 billion in revenue in the 2014 fiscal year – 16.3 percent of Apple’s total.
The first of the five new stores opened Jan. 10, in Zhengzhou, Henan Province. A second store is scheduled to open Jan. 24 in Hangzhou, Zhejiang Province.