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Original poster
Apr 12, 2001
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Apple appears to be working on plans to open its largest retail store yet, advertising a forthcoming store in the main Century City shopping district of Dalian, China. M.I.C. gadget posts a photo showing promotional signage in a shopping center there calling the forthcoming store the "world's biggest".

apple_store_dalian_ad.jpg



Signage in Dalian's Parkland Mall advertising upcoming Apple retail store as the company's largest
Interestingly, the article also reports on an incident that has brought Apple some additional attention, with other stores in the area complaining about new barricades for construction of the Apple retail store encroaching too far onto a public plaza.

The dispute quickly escalated just minutes after the barricades were erected yesterday, with security officers working on behalf of a neighboring business facing off with Apple-hired security guards and ultimately forcibly dismantling the barricades. A portion of the glass curtain wall on the Parkland shopping center was also smashed in the process, and police were called to the scene to address the situation.

M.I.C. gadget's report suggests that the dispute stemmed from jealously between shopping centers over Apple's choice of venue for its store, but our reading of the source article from We54.com [Google translation] indicates that the controversy is more about encroachment upon public spaces that other retailers fear will impact their business during the construction process.

Dailan, a city of 3.5 million people with a total of over 6 million people in the region, is located on the Liaodong Peninsula separating the Bohai Sea from Korea Bay in northeastern China. It is a major seaport, financial center, and tourist magnet for the region, drawing significant numbers of visitors from China, Japan, and Korea.

Article Link: Apple's Largest Retail Store Yet Coming to Dalian, China?
 

tonytiger13

macrumors regular
Jan 9, 2008
106
3
I'm guessing they don't enjoy a foreign company raking in the profits in their country. The benefit is that the Apple store will bring in more foot traffic (though that place looked pretty busy all around).

I bet American car companies can relate.
 

tonytiger13

macrumors regular
Jan 9, 2008
106
3
Crazy? You can't randomly go errecting walls/barriers anywhere you like... The same thing would happen in the US.

I doubt something like that would happen. Though I'm not calling it impossible. Barriers for construction go up all the time. If some business really felt they were put to far out into a public plaza, I think most businesses (anywhere) would handle it professionally and talk to the right authorities. They sure wouldn't send their security force to push it down. That leads to being sued in the US.

I don't agree with the general statement of crazy though.
 

Consultant

macrumors G5
Jun 27, 2007
13,314
34
Crazy? You can't randomly go errecting walls/barriers anywhere you like... The same thing would happen in the US.

Do you think Apple didn't look into and follow the local construction rules?

Perhaps Apple is building a 5th avenue style underground store?
 

tonytiger13

macrumors regular
Jan 9, 2008
106
3
Do you think Apple didn't look into and follow the local construction rules?

Agreed. And it's not like we didn't hire locals that already know code and procedures. Besides a few Apple higher-ups, many of the crew building that place and their bosses are probably all locals.
 

Consultant

macrumors G5
Jun 27, 2007
13,314
34
Hopefully whatever "business" that have a problem get their lease revoked so that they won't get additional revenue when the Apple Store is completed.
 

RobQuads

macrumors regular
Jul 11, 2010
234
48
If you owned local shops you would have thought they would be happy. I am sure the Apple store will result in a HUGE increase in foot traffic.
 

lunarworks

macrumors 68000
Jun 17, 2003
1,972
5,213
Toronto, Canada
Apple seems to be spending a lot of time on China right now. Like it or not, it's pretty smart of them, because China could end up being a bigger market for them than even the US.
 

World Citizen

macrumors regular
Feb 21, 2011
168
1
I dont realy understand why this wall was standing there... It was obviously in front of a store, and before starbucks. It looks like Apple is building around starbucks.. ? The front facing side of the wall was turned away from us. And people where sitting at starbucks.. .So obviously the wall was not keeping people out...

Weird.
 

spriter

macrumors 65816
May 13, 2004
1,460
586
As well as being a popular tourist destination, Dalian has a number of well-respected schools and Universities (at least in China), many international. Lots of students with wealthy parents funding Apple products. My wife's nephew attends an international middle school there and they're all kitted out with iPhones, iPads and MBPs (many from the grey market or brought in from Japan/S. Korea at the moment).

As for China not liking foreign companies... next time you're there check out the sales taxes on foreign products for locals. Foreign cars, in particular, usually have a hefty premium of around 50% over local vehicles. And there's no shortage of 外车 on the streets of China. It's a sign of wealth, just like owning Apple products is ;)
 

LaWally

macrumors 6502a
Feb 24, 2012
530
1
No Mac Mini or Mac Pro on the Apple sign. And what is that on the far right, a MBP or MBA?
 

maflynn

macrumors Haswell
May 3, 2009
73,419
43,307
You assume those pulling down the barriers know the rules as well.

I make no assumptions but it seems the security guards for the other shops won out, either because they were right, or their security guards were tougher then the ones hired by apple.
 

spriter

macrumors 65816
May 13, 2004
1,460
586
Apple seems to be spending a lot of time on China right now. Like it or not, it's pretty smart of them, because China could end up being a bigger market for them than even the US.

They've barely scratched the surface. The amount of fake Apple stores is insane. I saw two very good fakes only in January in a remote city, thronged with people thinking it was a legitimate store happily buying the 4S. The stores closed in Kunming last year were small fry. The volume of customers in the fake stores and grey market is all the market research Apple need to hit the 'expand' button.

Delays with new products only ramps up demand (see the eggs in Sanlitun), and quite often, Chinese who like to let people know of their wealth will gladly fly to HK or Seoul to grab whatever is not currently available. Got money? Want to show it to friends and colleagues? Fly to HK, hit the shops, come back with an iPad 3, job done. Merely going abroad highlights wealth/contacts as getting a visa out for a private holiday is never the easiest task.

The halo effect in China is just beginning.
 
Last edited:

Consultant

macrumors G5
Jun 27, 2007
13,314
34
Evidently not, otherwise the barricades would not have to be dismantled

Few possibilities:
- It was legit but competitors don't like it
- The contractor put it in the wrong place
- Apple got exception to put it there
 
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