Apple retail chief expects store reopenings in May

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Apple retail stores outside of China have been closed without further notice, causing a major decline in US iPhone sales.

According to today's Bloomberg report, retail employees have received a video update by senior vice president of retail and people Deidre O'Brien, saying that Apple is "continuing to analyze this health situation in every location," and she expects "many more" stores to reopen in May.

Previously, O'Brien, an Apple veteran of 30 years, has told employees that she expects some stores in the US to resume operations in the beginning of May, further solidifying that we may see certain retail stores reopen very soon.

Earlier in April, some of the Apple Store workers assigned to one of the 458 closed retail stores were being asked to work from home, with the company offering to send them the 27-inch Mac, as long as the employees could set up a quiet room with a strong internet connection as a home office environment.

The retail Apple Stores in China were reopened on March 13th, while US and other regions were to see reopenings on March 27th, a date that was later revised to simply "until further notice" by O'Brien.

And while the pandemic was happening, Apple showed support to China's efforts to contain it, as well as towards groups around the globe directly working against its spread. CEO Tim Cook announced a $7 million donation to the China Foundation for Poverty Alleviation, which were to go towards six hospitals in Hubei, with an additional donation of 10 million masks and over $15 million for US and international groups fighting against COVID-19, and for people in heavily affected areas.

And now, as we see waves of US states preparing to lift the COVID-19 restrictions in the upcoming weeks, it's likely that those areas will see Apple Store reopenings first.