Apple is expanding its presence in the Chinese market yet again. The tech giant is set to open five more retail stores in the country within the next five weeks. This adds to the 15 stores already in the country.
Apple to open 25 more retail stores
The company’s chief executive officer, Tim Cook, told Chinese media that Apple will open 25 more retail stores in the next two years. It is a vital part of the plan to grow the number of stores within the Chinese market. This country is already dominated by the likes of other handset makers, including Xiaomi, Lenovo, Samsung, Huawei and Yulong.
Apple’s retail lead Angela Ahrendts explained, “We are opening five new stores before the Chinese New Year this year. Four of the stores are in brand new cities for us.” The first store in the new batch will be located in Zhengzhou, and the second store is set to be opened in Hangzhou, which is closest to Shanghai.
Xiaomi, Apple’s biggest obstacle in China
The Cupertino-based tech giant’s biggest obstacle in China is Xiaomi. The budget-friendly phone maker dominates a large portion of the country’s market thanks to quality phones that look similar to Apple but cost less. Apple’s lead of design, Jony Ive, isn’t amused by his company’s rival. He summed up his thoughts by saying, “I’ll stand a little bit harsh, I don’t see it as flattery,When you’re doing something for the first time, you don’t know it’s gonna work. You spend seven or eight years working on something, and then it’s copied. I think it is really straightforward. It is theft and it is lazy. I don’t think it is OK at all.”
Samsung learned that the hard way. Apple has filed many lawsuits against the popular Android phone maker, but Samsung filed lawsuits of its own. Both companies have spent spent a lot of money, time and energy in court.
