Apple Closes A Store In China For The First Time In Its History
China was the second-biggest retail market for Apple after the United States, but has faced tough competition from local brands in recent times.
On Monday, Apple announced that it would close its store in Parkland Mall, located in the Zhongshan District of Dalian City, on August 9.
Apple stated that the closure was due to changes in the shopping complex's landscape, a claim echoed by several locals. The mall has been experiencing a decline in footfall, which has led to the departure of several globally renowned brands. Retailers like Coach, Sandro and Hugo Boss haven't renewed their leases in recent years.
In a statement to Bloomberg, Apple said: '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 has about 56 stores in the Greater China region, making up over 10 per cent of its footprint of more than 530 outlets globally.
Dalian City has two Apple Stores, and they are less than 10 minutes apart. The other store at the Olympia 66 shopping complex remains open.
Employees at the site that's closing will be given opportunities to work elsewhere, the company said. The two locations are roughly 10 minutes apart.
Apple is opening a new store at Uniwalk Qianhai in Shenzhen in the middle of August, and Bloomberg reported it is planning additional locations in Beijing and Shanghai over the next year.
On July 21, the company announced the opening of Apple Retail Service and App Store in Saudi Arabia, and said they have plans to open several stores on the country, including an iconic retail store in Diriyah, a UNESCO World Heritage site.
The company is adding new stores in Detroit, the United Arab Emirates, and Bengaluru in India. A location in Osaka opened on July 26. The company also opened its first store in Malaysia last year.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Gulf Insider
6 hours ago
- Gulf Insider
Trump, Putin To Meet As Soon As Next Week
It appears the Wednesday Witkoff-Putin meeting in Moscow has led to a breakthrough of sorts, coming right down to the wire of threatened fresh US anti-Russia sanctions set to be imposed Friday. Presidents Trump and Putin plan to meet in person as soon as next week, the NY Times is reporting. A meeting with Ukraine's leader would then follow. 'President Trump intends to meet in person with President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia as soon as next week, and he plans to follow up shortly afterward with a meeting between himself, Mr. Putin and President Volodymyr Zelensky of Ukraine, according to two people familiar with the plan,' the breaking report says. There's as yet been no indicators from the Russian or Ukrainian sides of the plan, or even that Moscow is aware of an 'agreement' to proceed with a meeting. According to more details: Mr. Trump disclosed his plans in a call with European leaders on Wednesday, the people said. The meetings would include only those three men, and would not include any European counterparts. The European leaders, who have tried to play a coordinating role on meetings to end the violence between Russia and Ukraine while supporting their European neighbor, appeared to accept what Mr. Trump said, one of the people familiar with the call said. Anti-Moscow critics have said that the Kremlin is just buying more time with Washington while its military operations in Ukraine proceed at full pace. Will a breakthrough actually come of this? Trump has said of a fresh call with European leaders that they agreed with him that 'the war must end' – but that it must be 'an honest end'. There must be something substantial cooking if both sides agree to a meeting, which would be the first such face-to-face interaction between Trump and Putin of the US president's second term. * * * Bloomberg is reporting Wednesday that President Donald Trump suggested he would hike tariffs on more countries buying Russian energy, including China, as the deadline for ceasefire looms, and as US envoy Steve Witkoff is in Moscow trying to make headway with President Putin. Witkoff's talks with Putin lasted three hours, according to Russian media, after Witkoff landed in the country early on Wednesday. Images in Russian media showed the two men smiling and shaking hands in an ornate, gilded hall – after having met for several rounds of meetings spanning prior months. Getty Images The Kremlin in follow-up called it 'constructive and useful' – according to TASS. They discussed the ongoing war in Ukraine, RIA Novosti stated. Last month, Trump's outlook turned more dire and negative on the chances for peace. 'We thought we had [the war] settled numerous times, and then President Putin goes out and starts launching rockets into some city like Kyiv and kills a lot of people in a nursing home or whatever,' he had said. And last week witnessed the single deadliest airstrikes on Kiev since the war's start – with the death toll having risen to 32 after another man recently died of his injuries, following the collapse of a nine-story apartment that was struck. Ukraine's Volodymyr Zelensky has of course welcomed the prospect tougher US sanctions and tariffs on nations buying Russian oil. He has made clear Ukraine's perspective that Putin would be forced into a serious peace deal if his war machine ran out of money. Another u-turn on Russia — zerohedge (@zerohedge) August 6, 2025 Wednesday saw a fresh Russian attack in the central region of Zaporizhzhia, reportedly striking a holiday camp which left two dead and 12 wounded. 'There's no military sense in this attack. It's just cruelty to scare people,' Zelensky said in the aftermath. As for the dialogue with Trump's envoy Witkoff, part of it took place through conversation with Putin's economic envoy Kirill Dmitriev, with the two taking a relaxed stroll through a public park in Moscow, which apparently caught some random Muscovites by surprise. Our exclusive footage of Steve Witkoff and Vladimir Putin's economic envoy Kirill Dmitriev taking an early morning walk through Zaryadye park next to the minimal visible security as ordinary Muscovites appear surprised to find themselves among such company. — Margarita Simonyan (@M_Simonyan) August 6, 2025 So the Kremlin appears to be sending calm messaging, likely in hopes that Trump will hold off on implementing the more dire and drastic of consequences and threats. Dmitriev has at the same time said he is confident Moscow and Washington can find common ground through diplomacy and honest dialogue. The CEO of the Russian Direct Investment Fund (RDIF) took to X after the Witkoff meeting and thanked his followers in English for 'kind wishes for a successful visit of Steve Witkoff to Moscow,' adding that 'Dialogue will prevail.' Thank you all for your kind wishes for a successful visit of @SteveWitkoff to Moscow. 🇷🇺🇺🇸🕊️ Dialogue will prevail. 🤝 — Kirill A. Dmitriev (@kadmitriev) August 6, 2025 Will it? Let's hope read: The American Academy Of Pediatrics: Mining Children For Profit
Gulf Insider
30-07-2025
- Gulf Insider
Saudi Arabia: Saudia Enhances Baggage Recovery With New Feature For Apple Users
In a move to boost passenger experience via technology, Saudia, the national airline carrier of Saudi Arabia, has introduced Apple's 'Share Item Location' feature to help guests track lost or delayed baggage more efficiently. The new service allows travellers to securely share the location of their bags equipped with Apple AirTags or Find My network accessories. Using the Find My app on an iPhone, iPad, or Mac, passengers can generate a secure Share Item Location link and submit it through Saudia's dedicated digital portal. This approach ensures privacy and security, as location sharing automatically ends once the baggage is recovered, manually stopped, or expires after seven days. Abdulgader Attiah, Chief Data and Technology Officer of Saudia Group, said: 'As part of our ongoing commitment to digital transformation, we are elevating the guest experience through cutting-edge technology and innovative solutions. 'This integration of Apple's Share Item Location feature underscores our dedication to providing world-class service and setting new standards in the aviation industry.' The Share Item Location feature operates through Apple's Find My network, which leverages a global crowd of over one billion Apple devices. These devices use Bluetooth technology to detect nearby missing items and relay their approximate locations back to owners anonymously and with end-to-end encryption, ensuring that neither Apple nor accessory manufacturers can access the data. Passengers interested in using this feature must update their Apple devices to iOS 18.2, iPadOS 18.2, or macOS 15.2 or later versions.
Gulf Insider
30-07-2025
- Gulf Insider
Rupee Slides After Trump Threatens India Over Russia Trade
With the August 1st tariff pause deadline looming, President Trump has taken to his Truth Social account to lambast India for continuing to buy oil (on the cheap) from Russia. Remember, while India is our friend, we have, over the years, done relatively little business with them because their Tariffs are far too high, among the highest in the World… …and they have the most strenuous and obnoxious non-monetary Trade Barriers of any Country. But, it's clear what is really pissing President Trump off… Also, they have always bought a vast majority of their military equipment from Russia, and are Russia's largest buyer of ENERGY, along with China, at a time when everyone wants Russia to STOP THE KILLING IN UKRAINE — ALL THINGS NOT GOOD! INDIA WILL THEREFORE BE PAYING A TARIFF OF 25%, PLUS A PENALTY FOR THE ABOVE, STARTING ON AUGUST FIRST. THANK YOU FOR YOUR ATTENTION TO THIS MATTER. MAGA! Any rate 20% or higher would come as a disappointment for India, which had been seeking a better deal than the 19% that Trump offered Indonesia and the Philippines. Bloomberg reports that India and the US have already signed terms of reference for a bilateral trade deal and have agreed to a fall deadline for that. The two sides have been negotiating an interim agreement that New Delhi hoped would give it a reprieve from higher US import duties due to kick in on Friday. Officials in India are still awaiting word from the White House on the extent of tariffs the South Asian nation will face this week, an official told reporters in New Delhi earlier this week, asking not to be identified as the discussions are private. The most immediate reaction was selling pressure in equity futures… But how long that weakness will last is anyone's guess as today's avalanche of headlines and data is just starting. The Indian rupee extended a three-day decline on the tariff threat, while the BSE Sensex gave up early gains to trade flat. The local currency fell as much as 0.5% to 87.24 to the dollar.
