There's also a substantial grey market here for gadgets, particularly for Apple gear. It generally comes via Hong Kong, sometimes in suitcases, sometimes something more commercial. Anyway, Apple sold quite a few more tablets here in 3Q than the 1.85m or so being reported. Even so, 1.85m iPads (71.4% of 2.6m) is 13% of Apple's worldwide iPad sales for the same 3Q period. Grey market sales might add another point or two, maybe pushing China's share up to 15%. That's a significant chunk for any single market, and China is still poised to grow quickly and considerably for Apple. Just walking the streets of Shanghai and Beijing, it's amazing how you can see Apple products EVERYWHERE. Even with the economic slowdown, I don't think there's a better bet than the long-term success of Apple in China, and China's long-term importance to Apple.
There's also a substantial grey market here for gadgets, particularly for Apple gear. It generally comes via Hong Kong, sometimes in suitcases, sometimes something more commercial. Anyway, Apple sold quite a few more tablets here in 3Q than the 1.85m or so being reported. Even so, 1.85m iPads (71.4% of 2.6m) is 13% of Apple's worldwide iPad sales for the same 3Q period. Grey market sales might add another point or two, maybe pushing China's share up to 15%. That's a significant chunk for any single market, and China is still poised to grow quickly and considerably for Apple. Just walking the streets of Shanghai and Beijing, it's amazing how you can see Apple products EVERYWHERE. Even with the economic slowdown, I don't think there's a better bet than the long-term success of Apple in China, and China's long-term importance to Apple.
I too see this in china. Apple products are seen (like in many other countries) as a status symbol. It's a sign of wealth and prosperity to the individual. This country in particular values these social traits highly, so I have no doubt that the iPad and especially the iPad mini and iPhone 5 are going to be a huge hit. Traveling to Beijing on business 50% of the year for me, I can see this daily when there. I don't see a lot of tablets on the subways, but when I do they are iPads or other 7"er's. with the addition of the mini, I can easily see a huge increase in tablets in china. The mini will also be a huge hit mainly because personal space in public is such a premium. i recall my last trip in particular...daily commutes on the subway having other riders leaning on each other because of the sardine-can like situations at rush hour.
I think part of why these numbers are smaller than most would think (given the 1.4 billion potential users in China) is that the iPad is still out of the financial reach of many n china; however, mini is going make those sales number substantially greater. The grey market will always be there, it's unavoidable in china. A place where movie theaters are scarce and grey/black markets are everywhere, since you can download just about anything you want for free and no one has any comprehension or concern for copyright law. If its easy to get for free, why not? To them at least.
Comments
Quote:
Originally Posted by SpamSandwich
Is this the conference where nothing ever happens?
Yep. You got it! The camel rides are nice, though....
We welcome you to the race to the bottom, to which, in the end, the only winning brands are the Chinese ones.
There's also a substantial grey market here for gadgets, particularly for Apple gear. It generally comes via Hong Kong, sometimes in suitcases, sometimes something more commercial. Anyway, Apple sold quite a few more tablets here in 3Q than the 1.85m or so being reported. Even so, 1.85m iPads (71.4% of 2.6m) is 13% of Apple's worldwide iPad sales for the same 3Q period. Grey market sales might add another point or two, maybe pushing China's share up to 15%. That's a significant chunk for any single market, and China is still poised to grow quickly and considerably for Apple. Just walking the streets of Shanghai and Beijing, it's amazing how you can see Apple products EVERYWHERE. Even with the economic slowdown, I don't think there's a better bet than the long-term success of Apple in China, and China's long-term importance to Apple.
I think part of why these numbers are smaller than most would think (given the 1.4 billion potential users in China) is that the iPad is still out of the financial reach of many n china; however, mini is going make those sales number substantially greater. The grey market will always be there, it's unavoidable in china. A place where movie theaters are scarce and grey/black markets are everywhere, since you can download just about anything you want for free and no one has any comprehension or concern for copyright law. If its easy to get for free, why not? To them at least.
Originally Posted by fireside
We welcome you to the race to the bottom, to which, in the end, the only winning brands are the Chinese ones.
Sure doesn't look like it in any meaningful way.
China has a very low average wage yet produces millions of $50 tablets.
It don't quite add up and there is a much bigger story here.