Apple is aiming to begin reopening some of its retail stores during the first half of April, according to Bloomberg which cites a leaked employee memo from Senior Vice President of People and Retail Deirdre O’Brien.
“For all of our retail stores outside of Greater China, we will reopen our stores on a staggered basis. 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,” O’Brien wrote. “We will provide updates for each store as soon as specific dates are established.”
The news follows after Apple announced the closure of all 464 of its retail stores outside China earlier this month, at the time saying the company plans to reopen locations on March 27, although that date was later removed from Apple’s website with a notice showing stores would be closed ‘until further notice’.
The plans will likely come under criticism as many public health experts warn people should stay at home in an effort to stop the spread of the deadly virus. COVID-19 is developing rapidly in the United States, therefor it is likely US stores will remain closed whereas some European locations may eventually begin to reopen as and when the local governments allow them to do so, which by the sounds of it Apple anticipates will be April.