Cook opens Asia’s biggest Apple store as crowds throng city venue
People flocked to the Jing’an Temple area for the opening of Asia’s biggest Apple store last night, and to see Chief Executive Officer Tim Cook.
Cook, who arrived in Shanghai on Wednesday, opened the doors at 7pm to welcome visitors along with Deirdre O’Brien, Apple’s senior vice president of retail.
Cook’s appearance drew applause and cheers from the crowd, some of whom had been queueing outside since Wednesday evening.
No discounts or special prices were on offer on opening day but the first batch of visitors received a gift package that included a badge, a sticker and a Dupont paper bag.
The Apple store and the gift packages featured a special logo with the white magnolia, the flower of Shanghai, in celebration of the city’s innovation and pioneering spirit, Apple said previously.
The new store is Apple’s biggest in Asia. Shanghai now has eight Apple stores, compared to six in Hong Kong and five in Beijing. New York City has seven. The store fits with Shanghai’s strategy of encouraging consumption, and a recent commercial zone upgrade in the Jing’an Temple area of Jing’an District.
Since its first store in Shanghai — Apple Pudong — opened in July 2010, over 163 million people have visited Apple’s seven local retail locations.
Most of those who gathered outside the Apple store were there to see Cook and explore a store described on social media as “top-of-the-line.” Anyone arriving after 4pm were not allowed to join the queue because of capacity restrictions.
“I was told it was full and not allowed to join the queue. But I chose to stay nearby to see Cook, even from far away,” said Li Jun, who has “the whole family of Apple products” — iPhone, iPad and Mac.
Some came early for the limited magnolia-themed gifts.
A Jing’an store gift package was sold at about 300 yuan (US$41.6) on China’s secondhand market app Xianyu. It is thought there were around 1,500 free packages available.
Some people in the queue were wearing Apple Vision Pro headsets, which are not yet officially available in the domestic market. This caused some misunderstanding as some visitors were there to try out the augmented reality device for themselves.
“Where are the (AR) glasses?” some visitors asked staff, only to be disappointed.
Hundreds of people also gathered outside Jing’an Temple and police were on hand to maintain order.
The new Apple store, Cook’s visit and newly announced investments in China — the “China charm offensive” — came as worries grow around Apple’s market share in the world’s second-largest economy.
China’s smartphone market is undergoing rapid changes with Apple sales declining 24 percent while Chinese rival Huawei gained significant growth in the first six weeks of 2024, according to researcher Counterpoint.
Apple posted a revenue decline of 13 percent in China in the latest quarter last month, an indication that the world’s top smartphone vendor still faces challenges in its third biggest market.
Apple’s artificial intelligence service Siri “seems ridiculous now” and its AI capabilities, though with huge potential, are lagging behind many Android phones, Zhou Hongyi, 360 Technology’s chairman and an AI observer, said yesterday in Beijing.
Asked about AI, Cook promised to announce AI upgrades later this year.
Besides attending the opening ceremony yesterday, Cook visited several Chinese firms, including a gaming company and supply chain partners such as BYD, China’s biggest electric car maker.