Apple temporarily shuts all stores and offices in mainland China

Apple has temporarily shut down all its stores in mainland China through Feb. 9, the company said on Saturday.

The tech giant said in a statement on Saturday: “Our thoughts are with the people most immediately affected by the Coronavirus and with those working around the clock to study and contain it.”

“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 February 9,” it said.

Apple’s online store in China will stay open, according to the statement.

It added that it will continue to monitor the situation, and re-open its stores “as soon as possible.”

Apple does the majority of its manufacturing in China, and considers it a key market. It shipped 3.2 million iPhones in China through December, according to CNBC calculations using government data, and that figure was up from 2.7 million units shipped in December 2018. China is a key growth area for Apple, which has struggled against low-cost phone makers that sell Android phones.

Apple had hit a record high on Wednesday after topping earnings and sales estimates in its recent quarter.

Its revenue was up 9% to $91.8 billion, which beat its own guidance, and earnings were partially powered by iPhone revenue, which was up 8% on the strength of new iPhone models to $55.96 billion.

CEO Tim Cook said that Apple’s “Greater China” segment, which also includes Taiwan and Hong Kong, had returned to growth in the quarter, which ended in December.

— CNBC’s Eunice Yoon and Kif Leswing contributed to this report.

[“source=cnbc”]