Apple could reopen its retail stores as soon as the first half of April, according to a memo sent to staff and obtained by Bloomberg News yesterday.
“For all of our retail stores outside of Greater China, we will reopen our stores on a staggered basis,” wrote Apple’s senior VP of people and retail, Deirdre O’Brien.
“At this time, we anticipate some stores may be able to open in the first half of April depending on the conditions in their community. We will provide updates for each store as soon as specific dates are established.”
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Apple initially closed over 450 of its stores outside of China, Hong Kong and Taiwan for two weeks, revealing the move in a statement shared on March 13.
“We will be closing all of our retail stores outside of Greater China until March 27,” wrote the retailer.
“We are committed to providing exceptional service to our customers. Our online stores are open at www.apple.com, or you can download the Apple Store app on the App Store. For service and support, customers can visit support.apple.com. I want to thank our extraordinary Retail teams for their dedication to enriching our customers’ lives. We are all so grateful to you.”
The company also put any Genius Bar appointments on pause, and has extended its 14-day returns policy for an additional two weeks after stores reopen.
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The announcement followed news that the retailer had reopened all Apple stores in China after closing them earlier in the year.
It seems unlikely that Apple will reopen its stores on Friday as was originally scheduled – at least not here in the UK following Monday’s lockdown proper. We’ll have to wait and see whether Apple will be back and selling iPads and MacBooks in other locations within the first half of April.
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Editorial independence means being able to give an unbiased verdict about a product or company, with the avoidance of conflicts of interest. To ensure this is possible, every member of the editorial staff follows a clear code of conduct.
Professional conduct
We also expect our journalists to follow clear ethical standards in their work. Our staff members must strive for honesty and accuracy in everything they do. We follow the IPSO Editors’ code of practice to underpin these standards.
