Apple to Launch First Online Store in Vietnam

Apple will launch its first online store in Vietnam next week, the company said Friday, hoping to cash in on the country’s young and tech-savvy population.

The iPhone maker is among a host of global tech giants including Intel, Samsung and LG, which have chosen Vietnam for assembly of their products.

But up to now, the Silicon Valley giant has sold its products in Vietnam’s market of 100 million people via authorized resellers.

“We’re honored to be expanding in Vietnam,” said Deirdre O’Brien, Apple’s senior vice president of retail in an online statement in Vietnam.

The country’s communist government says it wants 85 percent of its adult population to have access to a smartphone by 2025, up from the current 73 percent.

Less than a third of the country’s mobile users have an iPhone, according to Statista’s market research platform.

Through online stores, “clients in Vietnam can discover products and connect with our experienced experts,” O’Brien said in the statement.

The production of accessories and assembly of mobile phones accounts for up to 70 percent of electronics manufacturing in Vietnam. Products are mainly for export.

Official figures said Vietnam’s mobile phone production industry reported an import-export turnover of US $114 billion last year, a third of the country’s total import-export revenue.