U.S. tech giant Apple has reopened its flagship store in Beijing's Sanlitun district after months of planning and renovations.
The company's CEO, Tim Cook, announced the official reopening of the massive store via his official Weibo account on Friday. The new store is located roughly 100 meters away from Apple's original outlet in the area.
The renovations done to the company's first Chinese store, which it built about 12 years ago, represents Apple's latest retail design concept. Cook revealed that one of the major changes done to the facility was the installation of an integrated solar array on its rooftop.
The array provides more than enough electricity to power the entire store, making it run on 100 percent renewable energy. The new upgrades officially make the Apple Sanlitun the first retail store in the Asia-Pacific that utilizes integrated solar battery pack technology.
Apple's senior vice-president of retail, Deirdre O'Brien, mentioned in a statement that the company's Sanlitun outlet will set a new standard for all of its other outlets in China. She added that the company is thrilled on the reopening of its flagship outlet and is looking forward to serving all of its Chinese customers.
Since the opening of its Apple Sanlitun outlet 12 years ago, the store has welcomed more than 22 million visitors. The new outlet is bigger and significantly more modern. It features several 33-foot glass panels that were sourced from Xiamen. The floors of the outlet are padded with Padang Light stone from the country's Shandong province. The store's terraces are also lined with Sophora japonica trees, Beijing's official tree. From its original 52 team members, the new store now boasts 185 team members that are ready to assist customers.
To celebrate the reopening of the flagship store, Apple launched a massive campaign last month, offering huge discounts on its products online. The discount campaign was launched on the Tmall store, the country's largest e-commerce platform. According to Tmall, the promotion saw sales of more than 500 million yuan worth of Apple products within the first five hours of the campaign.
Apple's sales performance in China has continued to decline over the past few quarters, mostly due to the supply chain disruptions and the economic downturn caused by the coronavirus pandemic. For its first quarter this year, the company reported sales of around $9.46 billion in China, a 7 percent drop when compared to its sales over the same period last year.
