Apple wants to open a new store and is currently scouting around South Korea to find the perfect spot for it.
What's interesting about this move is the fact that South Korea is Samsung's home turf.
In fact, things are even more intriguing than they seem. The Wall Street Journal reports that Apple is not looking for just any vacant spot — it needs one that is in close proximity to the Samsung store in Seoul's Gangnam District. This is a clear sign of Apple's intentions, and Samsung should be worried.
At the moment, Apple has about 500 stores spread across 20 countries. Three dozen stores are actually based in China alone, which is not surprising, considering how China is a large country with an ever growing economy.
In South Korea, the absence of a retail store hasn't actually managed to hurt sales for the Cupertino company. Apple has about a 10 to 15 percent market share in the country. Still, Samsung and LG are the most dominant, which shouldn't come as a surprise since they are locals.
Time will tell if Apple will increase its market share should it manage to add a retail store in the country.
If Apple had opened one earlier, then the company could have taken full advantage of Samsung's exploding batteries crisis with the Galaxy Note 7.
It's still too early to tell right now. Bear in mind that the opening of a store also takes a long time to push through. First, Apple must locate the perfect spot then proceed with the building of the store. All of this could take a year or more. In fact, it might not even happen at all.
It's not always easy for Apple to set up shop in other countries. Look at what happened in India, where "local regulations require global ventures to outsource a minimum of 30 percent of manufacturing to local businesses," Tech Times reported. "As Apple purchases most of its components from Chinese manufacturers, the discussions had reached a stalemate."
Apple could face similar problems when it comes to business practices and corporate laws in South Korea, especially since it's an outsider.
In light of all this, a new report claims that the Samsung Galaxy Note 7 battery problems could cause Apple to sell more than 100 million iPhone 7 devices before the end of 2016.
Furthermore, in terms of how robust each flagship is, a test was recently carried out to show if the iPhone 7 and Galaxy Note 7 could both survive falling from high places. This could at least redeem the image both of Samsung and Apple, which have been experiencing declining sales prior to their 2016 product launches.
