Apple will close a directly operated store in China for the first time in its history.
According to the South China Morning Post (SCMP) and other outlets on July 29, Apple announced on its website the previous day that it will operate its Dalian Baijiancheng store in Liaoning Province, China, only until August 9.
This marks the first time Apple is shutting down a directly operated store in China. Located in the Baijiancheng shopping mall, this store was the first Apple store in Dalian, having opened in October 2015. Once this location closes, only one directly operated Apple store will remain in Dalian.
In a statement, Apple told Bloomberg News that it decided to close the store because several businesses in the shopping mall have withdrawn. According to Bloomberg, the operator of the shopping mall changed earlier this year, and several brands such as Coach, Sandro, and Hugo Boss have not renewed their leases in recent years. The store is closing as a result of the change in mall management.
However, SCMP identified competition from Chinese brands as the primary reason for Apple's first store closure in China. In the second quarter of fiscal year 2025, Apple’s revenue in China fell by 2.3% to $16 billion, which is below analysts’ expectations of $16.8 billion. Apple’s stock price has dropped by about 14.5% since the beginning of this year. CNBC, a U.S. financial media outlet, analyzed that this decline is partly due to concerns about China and geopolitical headwinds.
Chinese domestic brands are performing strongly in the Chinese smartphone market. According to market research firm Canalys, in the second quarter of this year, Chinese brands took the top four spots in the mainland China smartphone market: Huawei (12.2 million units), Vivo (11.8 million units), Oppo (10.7 million units), and Xiaomi (10.4 million units). Apple ranked fifth, selling 10.1 million units.
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