Apple CEO Tim Cook has confirmed Apple’s plans to open 25 retail stores in China over the next two years. Chinese web portal Sina published an interview transcript in which Cook is quoted as saying Apple is looking to expand on the 15 outlets the company currently has in the country.
Cook previously mentioned Apple’s Chinese expansion plans during May’s Apple earnings call:
“We plan to triple the number of Apple Retail Stores [in China] over the next two years. We’re continuing to expand in online. We’re continuing to build out channels. We’re up to 40,000 points of sales now in iPhone, but we’re not nearly where we need to be on the rest of our product line and even the 40,000 is a low number in considering the broad landmass and the number of folks in China. And so, I feel like there’s still loads of opportunity there, and feel really, really good about how we’re doing.”
News of Cook’s comments comes as he reportedly met on Wednesday with China’s Vice Minister Ma Kai to discuss the security of user data. The CEO also visited a Foxconn assembly factory, tweeting a selfie from the assembly line:
