San Francisco, Dec 22 (IANS): Apple has confirmed that it will permanently close its Infinite Loop retail store in Cupertino, US on January 20.

According to MacRumors, citing sources, the tech giant will be offering all employees at the store the opportunity to continue working with the company, with some employees being able to relocate to nearby stores, including the Apple Park Visitor Center and Apple Valley Fair.

Infinite Loop served as Apple's headquarters from the mid-1990s until 2017, when its current headquarters opened in Apple Park.

"After many years of serving customers at our stores in the Bay Area, we plan to close our store at Infinite Loop," an Apple spokesperson was quoted as saying.

"All of our valued team members will have the opportunity to continue their roles with Apple. We look forward to welcoming our customers at our nearby Apple Park Visitor Center and other locations, on Apple.com, and the Apple Store app," it added.

Moreover, the tech giant is also permanently closing its Royal Hawaiian store in Honolulu on January 20.

Apple stated that it remains committed to "providing an excellent experience for our customers," and that it has built new stores in the US, China, India, South Korea, and the UK this year, as well as expanded its online store to Chile and Vietnam, the report mentioned.

The offices at the Infinite Loop campus will continue to be used by Apple's corporate employees, with only the store closing, the report added.

Meanwhile, Apple has pulled its latest flagship smartwatches, the Watch Series 9 and Watch Ultra 2, from the company’s online store in the US due to a forthcoming import ban imposed by the US International Trade Commission (ITC) over a patent dispute with medical device maker Masimo.