Apple is committed to supporting the UAE’s sustainability agenda as part of its growing investments in the country, its global head of retail has said, as it opened a new store powered by renewable energy in the Emirates.
The UAE’s fifth Apple store, which opened on Thursday at Al Jimi Mall in Al Ain, is run on 100 per cent sustainable energy, Deirdre O’Brien, Apple’s senior vice president for retail and people, told The National.
“The UAE continues to be an incredibly important market for Apple and our investments here reflect that,” Ms O’Brien said in an interview.
“Beyond retail, we’re committed to supporting the country’s growth in areas like education, accessibility, sustainability and technology.”
Apple's investments in the UAE have topped Dh6 billion ($1.6 billion) in the past five years, supporting more than 38,000 jobs, the California-based company said in December.
Developers in the UAE, meanwhile, have earned nearly Dh5 billion from apps on the App Store, Apple said.
In 2018, Apple said that its global infrastructure – such as retail stores, data centres and offices – were using 100 per cent clean energy.
On education, the company expects its Today at Apple programme, which organises educational and creative sessions in Apple stores, to reach more people with its new presence in Al Ain.
That would help developers and “spark creativity among students and young people in Al Ain and across the Emirates”, Ms O’Brien said.
“These are the kinds of commitments we’ll continue to strengthen as we deepen our connection with local communities across the UAE,” she added.
Apple’s physical presence remains vital to its overall retail strategy, despite the popularity of online shopping.
In the Emirates, “the diversity and energy of visitors in the UAE make our stores here especially vibrant”, said Ms O’Brien, who previously told The National that Apple stores in the UAE were among its busiest globally.
From its first shops that opened in the US states of Virginia and California in 2001, Apple now has a network of 536 outlets across 27 countries and territories, according to the company's website.
The UAE, the Arab world's second-biggest economy, is a key market for Apple, with the nation always among the first to receive the company's new devices, particularly its flagship iPhones.
Thousands of customers queued at Apple stores last Friday as the company launched its iPhone 17 series and new slim iPhone Air.
Apple's first official foray in the UAE was in 2011, when it opened its online store. Four years later came the first Apple stores in the Emirates, with the outlets in Abu Dhabi’s Yas Mall and Dubai’s Mall of the Emirates opening simultaneously.
This was followed by another at Dubai Mall in 2017, which features a motorised balcony that offers a view of the Dubai Fountain, making it one of the most popular Apple stores worldwide.
The fourth store, in Galleria Mall on Abu Dhabi’s Al Maryah Island, opened in 2022 and features flowing water alongside the entrances from both the waterfront and the mall, firsts for an Apple store.
The Al Ain Apple store features a terrazzo floor using biopolymer, which are natural polymers produced by cells of living organisms and has been dubbed nature’s version of plastic.
It was also designed for accessibility, with features including wide pathways, varied table and seating heights, enhanced visual and acoustic clarity, and expanded assisted-listening systems.
“Apple Al Jimi Mall reflects how important the UAE is to us and our close connection with local communities,” Ms O’Brien said.
In queue before dawn
The Al Ain Apple store welcomed hundreds of customers, with a number already in queue before sunrise.
Emirati Mohamed Jawad, who on social media is known as Appleholic, was the first in the queue at 5am, which he says allowed him to continue his streak as the first customer at all Apple store openings in the UAE.
"I've been to almost 100 Apple stores around the world and the Al Ain store is great addition to this beautiful city," Mr Jawad, an engineer in the oil and gas industry specialising in artificial intelligence, told The National.
Mr Jawad – an Apple user since 1999 who owns a collection of Apple products – already picked up the complete set of new iPhones at the Yas Mall store last week. He said he was buying two more Pro models in Al Ain since his purchases over the past week were for his family.
"I've seen of all [Apple's] products ... and everything is more gorgeous than the previous one – regardless of what people say," he added.
