Thousands queue for taste of Apple's Hong Kong flagship store

Sep 24, 2011, 11:43 GMT

Hong Kong - Thousands of Apple fans queued to be the first inside the company's Hong Kong flagship store on its opening day Saturday.

Some of the customers had camped out two nights to be the first through the doors and claim one of 5,000 t-shirts being handed out to celebrate the occasion.

Staff greeted customers with cheers as they entered the store which is located on two-floors in the upmarket International Finance Centre in the city's central business areas and boasts a glass spiral staircase and floor to ceiling windows.

However, not everyone was pleased to see Apple Inc. open for business.

Around 20 protesters from the non-profit advocacy group Students and Scholars Against Corporate Misbehaviour (Sacom) also gathered outside to protest against alleged violation of workers' rights in the Chinese factories that produces some of the company's popular products.

Sacom spokeswoman Debby Chan called on consumers to denounce brands like Apple, which she said prospered at the cost of workers' rights.

'Pressure from consumers would spur these brands to carry out reforms,' she said.

The group chanted slogans and waved placards accusing the Californian company of using sweatshop labour.

Foxconn Technology Group, one of Apple's key suppliers, has been the target of labour right activists since a string of suicides among workers at its plants last year.

The opening of the Hong Kong store came one day after Apple opened a store in Shanghai, China, where the brand is hugely popular. The company now has six stores in China.

The technology company recently reported second quarter revenue of 3.8 billion dollars in China, including Taiwan and Hong Kong, a six-fold increase compared to the same period the year before.