Apple's University Village store. (Credit: Apple)
Apple’s University Village store. (Credit: Apple)

People waiting for an Apple Store to come to their city may be in luck.

Apple CEO Tim Cook said on the company’s conference call with financial analysts yesterday that Apple plans to triple the number of retail stores it has worldwide in the next two years. By the end of the expansion, Apple should have more than 1,200 retail outlets.

The massive expansion is aimed at bringing more points of sale for Apple’s products to interested consumers, especially in markets like China where the company’s retail footprint is fairly small.

That announcement came after Apple announced quarterly earnings that smashed analysts’ expectations, in part because of strong iPhone sales through its retail stores and other channels. The expansion will be headed up by former Burberry CEO Angela Ahrendts, who will be joining Apple this week to head up its retail and online store operations.

It’s been almost 13 years since the first Apple Stores opened in Glendale, Calif., and Tysons Corner, Va. Since then, Apple has opened hundreds of stores around the country and proven that it makes sense for tech companies to have their own retail sites.

Since then, competitors like Microsoft and Samsung have opened their own retail outlets in order to show off their wares in a curated retail experience. As of last count, Microsoft had opened 83 stores in North America, and is on track to have 100 retail outlets by the end of this year.

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