Apple expands China retail network with opening of second store in Shenzhen next week amid local concerns over supply chain shift

Apple will open its second retail store in Shenzhen next week, more than a decade since its first shop was launched in the southern tech hub, as the US tech giant continues to expand its presence on the mainland amid concerns of a manufacturing supply chain shift out of China.

The new Apple Store, located at upscale shopping centre The MixC in Shenzhen’s Luohu district, will open at 10am on April 28, according to the company’s official website. The first Apple retail store in the city was opened in November 2012 in Nanshan district, home of the Shenzhen Hi-Tech Industrial Park.

This opening will expand the iPhone maker’s network of bricks-and-mortar retail shops in mainland China to 46 locations. It follows the launch of new Apple Stores in Wuhan, capital of central Hubei province, last year and in Changsha, capital of south central Hunan province, in 2021.

Apple’s continued retail push on the mainland, the smartphone industry’s biggest market and home to the largest number of internet users, underscores the company’s efforts to reinforce its commitment to the country, despite rising tensions between Beijing and Washington.

In March, Apple chief executive Tim Cook met China’s new premier Li Qiang and other senior government officials as part of a trip to reaffirm the company’s ties to the mainland amid geopolitical uncertainties.