Apple Closes Chinese Stores, Corporate Offices Due to Coronavirus
February 01 2020 - 1:39PM
Dow Jones News
By Tripp Mickle
Apple Inc. said Saturday it will close its stores and corporate
offices in China until Feb. 9, a significant escalation in its
response to the coronavirus outbreak gripping China and roiling
global markets.
"Out of an abundance of caution and based on the latest advice
from leading health experts, we're closing all our corporate
offices, stores and contact centers in mainland China through Feb.
9," an Apple spokesman said. "We will continue to closely monitor
the situation and we look forward to reopening our stores as soon
as possible."
An Apple spokesman declined to comment further on how the
outbreak was affecting the company's business. It relies on
factories across China to assemble the vast majority of the
products it sells around the world. The Chinese government is
requiring many factories to remain closed until Feb. 10,
eliminating more than a week of planned production after Lunar New
Year.
Apple also relies on China for about a fifth of total sales. It
operates more than 40 stores in China and reported this week that
it returned to revenue growth in the market behind increased iPhone
sales.
Apple's move to close stores and offices came less than a week
after Chief Executive Tim Cook said during a call with investors
that the company was closing just one store and reducing hours at
others. On Tuesday, he said the outbreak had affected customer
traffic to its retail stores, which Apple has been deep cleaning
out of caution.
Mr. Cook said Apple took the potential effects of coronavirus on
sales into account in its revenue guidance for the current quarter,
providing a wider-than-usual range of between $63 billion and $67
billion. "The situation is emerging and we're still gathering lots
of data points and monitoring it very closely," he said.
About 10,000 people in China are employed directly by Apple, the
company said. Indirectly, Apple says it accounts for three million
jobs there through its supply chain, which includes contract
manufacturer Foxconn Technology Co.
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
February 01, 2020 13:24 ET (18:24 GMT)
Copyright (c) 2020 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.
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