Apple Store Hong Kong in IFC gets firm date

Confirming previous talk, Apple has posted banners setting September 24 as the opening date for the first Apple store in Hong Kong. The two-storey shop has a banner advertising "Apple HK" and touts its positioning in the very high-end International Finance Center, one of the highest-rent retail areas in the world. The store as photographed by Engadget will be the "new center of Central," Apple said in a reference to its location at the core of the Central district of the city.

Most consider the store vital to Apple's Southeast Asian growth, which saw revenue grow 600 percent year over year this past spring. Although a wide gap exists between rich and poor, Hong Kong is one of the wealthiest cities in the world and is likely an ideal fit for Apple's more upscale image. Hong Kong is also considered by many to be a first point of contact for bootleggers bringing devices either from southern Chinese factories or even back to China from the US, in some cases leading to elaborate smuggling operations. An official store will give buyers an obvious legitimate route and may curb price gouging.

Having stores may serve a long-term benefit of counteracting Android's rising image in China. Firms in the area like HTC, Huawei, and ZTE are all gaining ground with lower-cost Android smartphones at a time when Apple only has limited brand recognition.

A second store may already be lined up. Causeway Bay's Hysan Place may get a store sometime next year and could be larger still, at 20,000 square feet. It might mimic a strategy Apple has taken for the heart of China, where it has opened multiple stores in a given city rather than spread itself thin. [via AppleInsider]

By Electronista Staff