Apple’s retail head says “many more” store reopenings are coming next month.
We previously reported that all Apple Stores in the US will remain closed until at least May.
A report Tuesday by Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman says Deirdre O’Brien, Apple’s vice president of retail and people, told staff “many more” store reopenings are coming next month, keeping true to her earlier promise that they would consider reopening some of the stores later this month.
From the report:
Over the past couple of weeks, Apple retail employees have begun returning to work by conducting training and meetings from home. Some staff have also been handling online and phone technical support requests from customers.
And what about non-retail employees?
Apple hasn’t told corporate employees when they can go back to the office, but Chief Executive Officer Tim Cook previously told staff that when that time comes, they’ll likely have to pass temperature checks and a health checklist to enter.
Apple in March temporarily closed its stores outside of China due to Covid-19. Last week, the Cupertino tech giant reopened its sole retail store in South Korea, located in the Gangnam district in Seoul, but that facility has so far been focusing on support rather than sales.
https://twitter.com/dkfilms_/status/1251379057221971969
Deirdre’s weekly video update for retail staff claims Apple is “continuing to analyze this health situation in every location.” She did not reveal stores or regions that may be reopening beyond saying that “I do expect we will reopen up many more stores in May.”