Apple Marks First-Ever Chinese Store Closure as Sales Fall

With sales falling, Apple is reportedly closing a store in China for the first time.

Apple’s store at the Parkland Mall in Dalian City will close Aug. 9, Bloomberg News reported Tuesday (July 29), citing a statement from the company which said a changing landscape at the shopping complex was behind the decision.

According to Bloomberg, Apple has around 56 stores in the greater China region, more than 10% of its total retail locations worldwide.

“We’re always focused on providing an exceptional experience for all of our customers both online and at more than 50 Apple Store locations across Greater China,” the company said in a statement. “Given the departure of several retailers at the Parkland Mall, we have made the decision to close our store there.”

The report notes that China is dealing with deflationary pressures amid declining consumption and tariffs on crucial exports. Retail sales growth has been less than forecasted, while home prices fell at a quicker pace last month.

Apple, meanwhile, has been trying to rebound in China after sales fell there 2.3% to $16 billion in the second quarter, slightly lower than what analysts had projected, the report said.

Recent findings by the International Data Corporation (IDC) show China’s overall smartphone market dipping after six straight quarters of growth, with shipments of 69 million units during the second quarter. That’s down 4% from the same period in 2024.

Of those shipments, local companies like Huawei were the most popular, with Apple’s iPhone in fifth place, though the company “narrowed its decline,” IDC said.

As PYMNTS CEO Karen Webster wrote earlier this month, the pressures Apple is facing in China are part of a larger crisis the tech giant is dealing with as its rivals advance in the artificial intelligence (AI) race.

That report points out that OpenAI and former Apple designer Jony Ive are developing an “always on” generative AI-native operating system and device that offers an integration into ChatGPT with Shopify, set to launch next June.

“The risk to Apple isn’t theoretical,” Webster wrote. “If the new OpenAI OS and connected device works as advertised, the iPhone becomes an accessory. No longer the consumer’s primary digital front door. Just another handset where real AI experiences happen independent of the handset. The iPhone becomes a commodity.”