Apple intends to open a retail store in Hong Kong as part of wider expansion plans in China.
In all, Apple plans to open up to 25 stores in China and Hong Kong by the end of 2011, said Jill Tan, an Apple spokeswoman. She did not offer specific dates for when the new Apple stores would open in China or where they would be located, except for Hong Kong.
To meet its goal of opening 25 new shops, Apple will have to open more than one new store in China every month for the next year and a half.
Apple opened its second store in China over the weekend, with employees handing out free t-shirts to the first 5,000 people who visited the shop. Located in Shanghai, the store is one of Apple’s largest anywhere and joins the company’s first Chinese retail outlet, which opened in Beijing in 2008.
The aggressive retail expansion plan reflects the growing importance that Apple is putting on China, which has traditionally been a much smaller market for the company compared to other markets, such as the U.S., Europe and Japan.
There are currently 295 Apple retail stores, including the two shops in China, Tan said.