Apple CEO Tim Cook says China demand largely recovered, retail hit record high in Q2
Apple has seen demand in China largely recover from coronavirus-related slumps earlier in the year, Apple CEO Tim Cook said on Thursday.
The Apple executive said that the company was "doing great" in China early in January before COVID-19 lockdowns occurred toward the latter half of the month. Demand slumped in February, during lockdown procedures and a shuttering of Apple retail locations across the country, Cook added.
As the lockdown eased toward the second half of February, Apple began reopening its stores in China on a staggered basis. From there, Cook said that Apple saw demand improve in March, and even more in April.
While foot traffic to Apple retail locations is back to where it was in February, Cook added that it hasn't returned to pre-pandemic levels. More customers are moving to online retail in the country and around the world, a natural result of quarantines and pandemic fears. However, Cook expects traffic at brick-and-mortar stores to eventually return to normal.
In February, Apple advised that it would likely not meet previous financial revenue guidance due to production and demand issues in China.
At another point in the call, Cook said that supply constraints were largely resolved by late March. CFO Luca Maestri also mentioned that Apple's global supply chain was "back up and running."
The Apple executive said that the company was "doing great" in China early in January before COVID-19 lockdowns occurred toward the latter half of the month. Demand slumped in February, during lockdown procedures and a shuttering of Apple retail locations across the country, Cook added.
As the lockdown eased toward the second half of February, Apple began reopening its stores in China on a staggered basis. From there, Cook said that Apple saw demand improve in March, and even more in April.
While foot traffic to Apple retail locations is back to where it was in February, Cook added that it hasn't returned to pre-pandemic levels. More customers are moving to online retail in the country and around the world, a natural result of quarantines and pandemic fears. However, Cook expects traffic at brick-and-mortar stores to eventually return to normal.
In February, Apple advised that it would likely not meet previous financial revenue guidance due to production and demand issues in China.
At another point in the call, Cook said that supply constraints were largely resolved by late March. CFO Luca Maestri also mentioned that Apple's global supply chain was "back up and running."
Comments
I'd guess it's because Apple went public in the 4th calendar quarter of 1980, so that a fiscal year would have ended with the third calendar quarter of the following year: Sept 30th 1981. It's been the same since AFAICT.