China is a very lucrative market and Apple has been working hard to get a bigger piece of the pie. It faces tough competition there, not only from its main rival Samsung, but also from local vendors who make some of the most popular and best selling smartphones in the country. Despite that, China accounted for over 15 percent of Apple’s sales last year. The company has a good momentum going there, and it seeks to further expand its presence in the country by opening its 10th retail store in mainland China tomorrow.
The new brick-and-mortar store opens a few days after Apple formally launched its storefront on Tmall, the world’s second largest e-commerce website that’s owned by Chinese e-commerce juggernaut Alibaba. It has also finally clinched the much rumored iPhone deal with China Mobile, its new iPhones launch on the world’s largest mobile carrier on January 17th. Including the new store, Apple has 13 retail stores in the country, three of which are present in Hong Kong alone. Apple seeks to open as many as 22 stores in Greater China, it may take a few years before that happens though. It has taken Apple five years to open 13 stores, the first was opened back in 2008 in Beijing’s Sanlitun district. The new Apple store is located at China Central Mall in Beijing’s Chaoyang district, doors open tomorrow.
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