Apple, which this year celebrates its 10th anniversary of the iPhone said on Friday that it is very excited about having its first retail Apple Store in South Korea. The Cupertino, California based tech giant praised Korea as one of the leaders in technology and telecommunications.
A spokesperson for Apple did not comment when asked when the store would be opening or where any of the Apple stores would be opening across South Korea.
However, those people who are familiar with the opening, said the company looked at different sits in Gangham, an upscale neighborhood of Seoul.
One of the possible locations is a short distance from the longtime headquarters of Samsung in Gangham, where the consumer electronics giants has a flagship store for its global products that is three stories high, said those familiar with the situation.
The same people said that Apple was looking for a site on the fashionable shopping street of Garosu-gil in the same neighborhood.
A representative from Samsung did not respond when contacted for a comment.
South Korea, which is the fourth largest Asia economy, has been a difficult market for a long time for Apple. Sales of smartphones are dominated by Samsung and local rival LG Electronics. The popular hometown favorites together hold close to 80% of the overall smartphone market across the country.
Apple does not even have a break down for sales in the country.
The breakdown of smartphone sales in Korea is approximately 40% each for Samsung and LG and between 10% and 15% for Apple. That means South Korea is the only developed country that does not have a large iPhone user base.
Apple, in South Korea, relies on different carrier partners as well as third party retailers. Those groups apply for a license to operate as Apple authorized vendors.
On Friday, the company posted new job openings for 15 new positions on its website for South Korea, which included a store leader.
A spokesperson for Apple said in a prepared statement released on Friday by the smarpthone maker that the company was now hiring its team that will offer customers in the capital of South Korea the education, entertainment and service that is loved by millions of Apple customers across the globe.