Update Feb 25, 2010: Apple Plans 25 Stores in China > read more
Feb 23, 2010: There have been rumors for months that Apple would open a store in Shanghai. The rumors took on credence by way of brief mention in The Wall Street Journal last November. And now today (Feb 23) Apple Chief Operating Officer (COO), Tim Cook, revealed that Apple’s 2nd store in China is a definite “go.”
Paraphrasing Apple COO Tim Cook from the GS Technology & Internet Conference today (Feb 23, 2010) …
There will be another store in China in Shanghai by the summer that is mind-blowing!”
Is this (at right) the new Shanghai Apple Store design (by Shanghai architect Ben Wood) or the design for the now delayed or shelved Qianmen Street* store site? Photos of this store design first appeared on the Net in June 2009.
John Ford meets w Beijing Press
Apple’s only official store in China is presently in Beijing at Sanlitun Village. I visited the Saniltun store in Nov. 2009. It’s managed by John Ford and a very cool retail presence in China.
There are also plans on the drawing board for an Apple Store in Hong Kong (but no confirmation from Apple, yet).
*The plans to build a second Apple Store in Beijing (on Qianmen Street near the Forbidden City) have apparently been put on ice. In my view that’s best for Apple, as Qianmen Street is a tourist zone, and the original rationale for locating there was likely (my theory) based on politics not economics. Qianmen has been undergoing major renovations for the last few years and Chinese authorities have been “encouraging” internationally recognized retailers to open shop on historic Qianmen Street. Just an opinion, but there are better locations in Beijing for a second Apple Store … stay tuned.
Apple Store at Sanlitun Village - Beijing, China
