Apple is extending its presence in the most populous Chinese smartphone market by launching a new digital storefront on Alibaba's Tmall.
Apple is focusing on boosting its sales in China by launching an official store on Tmall, the world's second largest online retailer after Amazon.com. The Cupertino tech giant already has 10 brick-and-mortar stores in four major Chinese cities and an official website dedicated to Chinese users. The new store on Alibaba-owned Tmall gives the tech giant a new edge to push its wide range of products to consumers.
Tmall hosts more than 70,000 brands, with companies like Nike, Levi's, and Gap offering their services through the channel. The e-commerce giant sells everything, from clothing to footwear to electronics. The fast-growing Tmall is expected to overtake Amazon.com services by 2015, according to Euromonitor International 2012 predictions.
Though, it is unclear when Apple expanded its digital appearance in China through Tmall, an Alibaba spokeswoman told the Wall Street Journal that the official Apple page on Tmall's website went live "recently." The new online store is not entirely different from the Chinese website, except for a few code modifications and links to the payment system.
Apple faces fierce competition in China from top players including world smartphone leader, Samsung, followed by China-based companies like Huawei, Lenovo and Yulong. Apple has been struggling to keep up with the low-budget smartphones from its rivals in China. Recently, Apple inked a deal with China Mobile to offer its iPhone handsets to the carrier's 750 million customers.
Besides its digital approach to lure more buyers for its iPhone and iPad devices, Apple announced an expansion of its retail store chain with a new store in China Central Mall in Beijing's Chaoyang district. The store is set to open Friday, January 10, which brings the total to 13, including three in Hong Kong. Apple has four stores in Shanghai, one in Chengdu and one in Shenzhen, the company said. The new store is a part of CEO Tim Cook's pledge to double its outlets to 22 in Greater China in order to meet the demand across the country.
