In a first in the country, Apple has confirmed that it will close its Parkland Mall store in Dalian City, Northeast China, on August 9. Here are the details.
As reported by Bloomberg, Apple decided to shut down the store due to the “departure of several retailers at the Parkland Mall”. Here is the full statement provided to Mark Gurman:
“We’re always focused on providing an exceptional experience for all of our customers both online and at more than 50 Apple Store locations across Greater China. (…) Given the departure of several retailers at the Parkland Mall, we have made the decision to close our store there.”
Apple tells Bloomberg that workers from Parkland Mall will be given the opportunity to work elsewhere, and that the company’s other retail store in the region, Olympia 66, will remain open.
Apple retail has been having a busy couple of months
Today’s news follows a flurry of updates about Apple’s retail presence across the world.
In India, Apple recently leased an 8,000-square-foot location in Bengaluru for a new store. In the US, the company confirmed plans to open a store in Downtown Detroit later this year. Over in the UK, Apple just inaugurated a store in Solihull, while last weekend it also opened a store in Osaka, Japan.
Finally, Apple also reportedly plans to further extend its retail presence in China, as part of a wider push to open or rebuild 50 stores through 2027 across the US, Canada, Europe, the Middle East and the Asia-Pacific region.
At the same time, Apple is also scaling back in some regions. Earlier this month, the company announced it will permanently close its Westfield Hornsby store in Australia later this year. Just days later, it confirmed that its Partridge Creek location in Clinton Township, Michigan, will shut down for good on August 16.
In the UK, one of Apple’s Bristol stores will close on August 9, the same day the Parkland Mall store in China is also scheduled to shut down permanently.
While Apple’s decision to close its store at Parkland Mall doesn’t appear to be directly related to the company’s broader geopolitical challenges in China, it’s still noteworthy to see Apple pulling out of a location in the country for the first time.
That said, with its Olympia 66 store just 10 minutes away and given its statement, the decision seems much more practical than strategic.
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