It’s been a while since we heard any progress regarding the alleged first-ever Apple Store in Malaysia, which is believed to be located at The Exchange TRX at Jalan Tun Razak, Kuala Lumpur. Now, a new report by Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman is suggesting that we may finally see it open next year, though no specific date was mentioned.
Citing sources familiar with the matter, Gurman says the opening for the brand’s first official store in Malaysia is part of Apple’s Asia-Pacific expansion, with 21 new or revamped sites planned across the region through 2027. The effort will mainly focus on expanding its presence in the region, with several new store launches and upgrades throughout several countries including China, South Korea, India, Japan, Australia and, as mentioned earlier, our very own.
Apart from a potential 2024 launch, not much else was mentioned regarding the supposedly upcoming local outlet. However, the report does seemingly suggest that Apple has no plans of opening more than one store in Malaysia, as the country was only mentioned once throughout the expansion plan. Whether or not more chains will eventually pop up locally 2027 onwards remains to be seen, but keep in mind that Gurman’s report is unofficial so there’s a chance that whatever’s claimed could turn out to be inaccurate.
For those who are unfamiliar, rumours of Apple’s plan to open its first ever store in Malaysia has been circulating as early as 2016, though the hype eventually died down as nothing ever came out of it after several years had passed. However, interest in the subject sparked yet again just two years ago after a report by The Edge claimed that the tech giant apparently entered negotiations with The Exchange TRX co-developer Lendlease in setting up an outlet at the premises.
Further corroborating on this particular rumour is a photo that was shared through an online forum back in December of last year, which allegedly featured the installation of store’s signage at The Exchange TRX. And not long after that, it was also discovered that Apple had begun listing several retail-based job vacancies in Malaysia via its dedicated recruitment website in the same month.
Interestingly, we’ve found out that the company is still actively recruiting for the same positions upon our most recent visit to the page. In fact, most of the vacancies listed were posted just today on 2 June 2023. It is unclear whether Apple has yet to fill these positions, or the listings are just reposted automatically. In regards to the latter, a quick check on WayBackMachine revealed that all of the same vacancies were also refreshed earlier this year in March and April.
(Source: Bloomberg)
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