Apple sees profits jump 550% in South Korea as its sixth retail store in the country prepares to open

Apple saw its operating profits jump 550% in South Korea for its 2023 fiscal year, according to The Elec.

In its filings to local financial authorities on Friday, the company reported revenue of 7.52 trillion won and operating profit of 559.9 billion won for October 2022 to September 2023. Revenue increased by 2.6% from the previous fiscal year while operating profit surged by 550%.

Apple continues to gain ground in South Korea. The company will open a new retail store in the Hongdae neighborhood of Seoul, South Korea on Saturday, January 20 at 10 a.m. local time. It will be the tech giant’s sixth retail store in the city.

The Elec notes that Apple’s latest iPhones, the iPhone 15 series, has been very popular in South Korea. About 85% of South Korean smartphone users aged less than 30 had an Android phone as their first smartphone, but 53% of them now use iPhones, according to Counterpoint Research.

The research group says the reason why Android phones account for a very high proportion of first-time smartphone purchases in South Korea is that most users in that age group, particularly adolescence, give priority to the preference of those with real purchasing power, such as parents, when buying their first smartphone. During Counterpoint’s recent survey, the largest number of respondents opted for “Recommendation from family or friends” when asked why they used an Android as their first smartphone.

As for the reason for switching from an Android phone to an iPhone, respondents cited “Performance” (32%) and “Brand image” (31%) as the first and second priorities. In particular, in terms of performance, satisfaction and expectation with the camera had the greatest impact on the purchase decision, according to Counterpoint.