Apple into China, South Orange or Beibei?
On July 19th, Apple opened its China-based direct store in Sanlitun, Beijing. What will this mean for Apple, which has been in the Chinese market for 15 years? And in this iphone has not been able to enter the Chinese market, rumors and China Mobile negotiations at a critical moment, what is the symbolic significance of the opening of this direct store? It's like a bite that was bitten on the famous Apple trademark, full of mystery.
Experience, layout, symbol?
In the first floor lobby of the direct store, the full range of Mac and iPod products are divided into several areas: audio-visual iPod shuffle, nano, classic, touch; notebook MacBook black and white; more emphasis on lightweight mobile MacAir; Higher configuration MacBookpro and more. All models and all colors are available here in Apple's mainland China, and all of them are available at any time. According to reports, at 9 o'clock in the morning, more than 500 Apple fans have arrived in Beijing from all directions to wait in line. In this case, you can not only experience it for yourself, but also get the personal service of the mac specialist. It is said that many people come to the direct store for this unusual purchase experience. The advantage of the direct store is also better than that. Channel providers offer a better user experience, or a true touch of the culture that Apple is proud of.
Officials of Apple China have told the media that they will open more direct stores in China before and after the Olympics, such as the Beijing Qianmen Pedestrian Street, which covers an area of ​​3,000 square meters.
Apple currently has four sales models worldwide: Apple Direct Store, Apple Store, Apple Premium, and Apple Distributor.
Apple’s second-quarter earnings report showed that revenue from 208 directly-operated stores increased by 74% to approximately $1.45 billion, accounting for 19% of Apple’s total revenue. In fiscal 2008, it plans to open a total of 45 stores in Australia, China, Switzerland and Other countries.
Apple's direct sales store is a new sales model developed by Apple in May 2001. It currently covers the United States, the United Kingdom, Japan, Canada, Italy and Australia. Apple stores and other sales models are different, in addition to providing products, A range of services, such as The Genius Bar, provide free face-to-face technical support and advice to customers; Personal Shopping, users can analyze and test products for free with a dedicated Mac specialist; One to One, members can be weekly for one year Participate in a personalized training taught by Apple Star Creative Lecturer; Work shop, each Apple retail store hosts a variety of free workshops every week, from everything from new Mac to digital photography, podcasts, etc. Youth Program, Apple Retail The store has a number of free teen programs for kids and more.
In addition to providing new services, Apple's direct stores in each location may also take on the role of rationalizing the local Apple service market. Since the previous model is a sales model, the service model does not have a uniform regulation, so often It will cause confusion in the local service system of Apple products, and Apple's direct sales stores can play a regulatory role.
In addition to hoping to drive Apple's sales in China through services and regulate Apple's related service system through direct stores, what needs more attention to us is the following two symbolic meanings:
First of all, Beijing Sanlitun Direct Store is Apple's 219th direct store in the world, and it is a former direct store in an economically underdeveloped area. The six countries that previously opened direct stores are undoubtedly developed. country. For the long-term adherence to Apple's noble bloodline Jobs. The opening of a direct-operated store in Apple China undoubtedly has a symbolic meaning of a change in thinking.
Secondly, the news that Apple opened a direct-operated store in China started from the rumors that the iPhone entered the Chinese market, and before and after the opening of the direct-operated store, China Mobile Wang Jianzhou publicly announced that Apple entered the Chinese market on the iPhone. The talks on the smooth progress of the negotiations are even more eye-catching. Does the store that opened at this time have another symbol? That is to say, the iPhone has finally entered China's larger mobile phone market in China after nearly a year of its listing.
And these two points, does it mean that Apple finally began to face up and pay attention to the Chinese market?
Traditional, win-win or chicken?
The market performance of a brand is directly proportional to the brand's emphasis on the market.
The attitude of Apple to the Chinese market before the opening of Beijing Sanlitun Direct Store can be fully summarized by the indifference.
In the past, Apple products such as iMac and iPod, which were obtained in the Chinese market, were slower than the United States for more than three months. When the iPhone was listed in the US in June 2007, Apple’s global listing table was in Asia in 2008. When entering the Chinese market, there was not even a plan.
Apple CEO Steve Jobs has never been to China Apple's products that are not localized in China, and almost no new products are released in China. Compared with other well-known IT or consumer electronics companies, Apple's investment in the Chinese market is very limited, and few localization activities such as marketing are held, let alone public welfare and social responsibility that other foreign companies have begun to pay attention to. Moreover, when many multinational companies separated China from the Asia-Pacific region, Apple canceled the position of general manager of China after replacing the head of the Asia-Pacific region in April 2006.
It is understood that in Apple's global supply system, the Chinese mainland market is at the same level as North Korea and Vietnam, and it is a marginalized region. According to Apple's practice, the products first meet the needs of the United States, then Europe, Japan, because Apple's Asia-Pacific headquarters is located in Singapore, China's priority is also behind Southeast Asia.
The consequences of this indifference to the Chinese market are: Apple's performance in China is less than 1% of Apple's global, not only iMac lost to Lenovo HP Dell, even the popular iPod, sales are not as good as Patriots and Newman. Apple Media Player's share in the Chinese market is less than 8%, and mobile phones and computers in China have a market share of less than 1%. This is a fact that makes the apples that have always been proud of embarrassing.
Now the iPhone may be a new opportunity for Apple.
The cumulative sales of the iPhone has been close to 10 million units in the past year, and the 3G version has exceeded 1 million units in two weeks. As a big mobile phone market in the world, iphone has not yet officially entered, but according to conservative estimates, there are already more than 400,000 possessions. It is reasonable to say that this is a good tool for Apple to improve its market share in China.
However, Apple's global cooperation and profit-sharing cooperation in the profit sharing of the operators has touched the wall in China Mobile. On June 27th, regarding the Apple iPhone's negotiations in China, the China Mobile spokesperson said: "Because Apple no longer insists on implementing a revenue sharing model with operators, the major obstacles to negotiations have been resolved."
The reason why Apple is willing to bow in China is that the market is too serious. In the year when Apple and Chinese operators were deadlocked, Samsung, LG, Moto, and even Nokia, the traditional strong players in the mobile phone field, have gradually developed iPhone competitors. Even HTC, a well-known mobile phone manufacturer, has introduced a touch-screen mobile phone Touch, and sold 3 million units in less than a year. The market will not give Apple time to hold.
On the other hand, facing the 400 million users in China Mobile’s hands, it is the power of any mobile phone manufacturer to dare to ignore it. Jobs will not know that smuggling channels can sell 400,000 units, using the official channels of China Mobile. The market that can be generated is estimated by 1% of the existing users, which is also ten times the 400,000!
However, even in the near future, we have got a newer iPhone in Apple's direct sales store, and we still have a lot of concerns.
In the forefront, the popularity of the iPhone in the world is not only because of the brand and appearance, but also the new mobile phone usage model he leads, including the surface touch control and various internal applications. It can be predicted that due to Chinese policy The problem, the wifi in the Apple app function will almost certainly be canceled, if there is no wifi, I am afraid that most of the fun of the iPhone will disappear.
Secondly, the application of youtube built into the iPhone is almost impossible to retain. A video site that cannot be supervised by the government. If it is a basic application service for mobile phones, is it possible? Even if you keep a direct video service like iphone, maybe you will switch to CCTV?
Later, because China Mobile originally had a music download service, itunes' online music store basically has no possibility of survival, and itune is not only a music download, but also the management and use of music in the mobile phone, and if China Mobile is used, Music download service, so convenient humanized itunes can save it?
If the above concerns become a reality, then we get the iPhone, I am afraid it is just a brand plus the appearance plus a certain concept of things, can also call iphone?
Perhaps, the apple we see in the future is no longer the apple that has been bitten and coveted, but it is probably a dried apple or an apple outside the jade.
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