Apple CEO Tim Cook chronicles recent China trip on new Weibo account
Apple CEO Tim Cook chronicled a recent four-day trip to China on microblogging website Weibo, posting pictures and brief messages regarding Apple Store meet-ups, school visits and general goings on while in the country.
Cook, who opened a Weibo account earlier this week, started his China tour on Monday with the announcement of environmental initiatives that will boost Apple's contribution of clean energy to the region, while reducing its carbon and virgin fiber footprint.
On Tuesday, Cook visited the Elementary School at Communication University of China, which is apparently home to an iPad-centric educational program akin to those in the U.S. and Europe. The Apple chief was given a first-hand look at the iPad curriculum and later posed for pictures with students and staff. That same day Cook met with China's Vice Premier Liu Yandong, who praised Apple's operations and urged that the company continue investing in Chinese businesses.
Cook took time on Wednesday to visit Apple retail outlets like the Xidan Joy City location in Beijing, one of the most visited Apple Stores in China. Later in the day, he joined Apple SVP of Internet Software and Services Eddy Cue and top environmental officer Lisa Jackson for an Apple Watch workshop at the new West Lake store in Hangzhou.
Cook's last posts came from Shanghai where he met Mrs. Ma, a veteran teacher who frequents the Apple Store Nanjing East Road.
The travelogue underscores the important role China plays in Apple's current and future success. On the back of booming product sales led by iPhone, Apple is planning a massive retail expansion into mainland China that will see 25 new locations open by the end of 2016.
Since signing up for Weibo, Cook has accumulated more than 588,000 followers.
Cook, who opened a Weibo account earlier this week, started his China tour on Monday with the announcement of environmental initiatives that will boost Apple's contribution of clean energy to the region, while reducing its carbon and virgin fiber footprint.
On Tuesday, Cook visited the Elementary School at Communication University of China, which is apparently home to an iPad-centric educational program akin to those in the U.S. and Europe. The Apple chief was given a first-hand look at the iPad curriculum and later posed for pictures with students and staff. That same day Cook met with China's Vice Premier Liu Yandong, who praised Apple's operations and urged that the company continue investing in Chinese businesses.
Cook took time on Wednesday to visit Apple retail outlets like the Xidan Joy City location in Beijing, one of the most visited Apple Stores in China. Later in the day, he joined Apple SVP of Internet Software and Services Eddy Cue and top environmental officer Lisa Jackson for an Apple Watch workshop at the new West Lake store in Hangzhou.
Cook's last posts came from Shanghai where he met Mrs. Ma, a veteran teacher who frequents the Apple Store Nanjing East Road.
The travelogue underscores the important role China plays in Apple's current and future success. On the back of booming product sales led by iPhone, Apple is planning a massive retail expansion into mainland China that will see 25 new locations open by the end of 2016.
Since signing up for Weibo, Cook has accumulated more than 588,000 followers.
Comments
I applaud his sincerity and genuine enthusiasm for Apple's products, and for company's various social and environmental agenda.
A similar thing will happen -- but not on as large a scale -- in India, but five years from now.
Twenty-five new stores in a year and a half. I think this is an amazing pace of expansion, but I have nothing to compare it to. Anybody?
For Apple, yes. For many other businesses, it's a rather slow pace. Most retail stores or fast food chains can set up pretty damn quickly and 25 stores a year would be childs play.
Apple, however, is very picky about locations for their stores, often preferring sites inside historic buildings or other unique locations (that is, outside of their mall stores). After finding a location, they're going to do renovations to make sure it fits in with their overall design philosophy for stores. On top of that, I imagine hiring of staff and training would also be much more time consuming than most retail stores. It's easy to find people to work in your clothing store or fast food outlet.
Basically, Apple is picky. And this requires extra time to get it right.
At the end of the day, however much they steal the disparate pieces, competitors cannot replicate the entire ecosystem. It is futile. Consumers-- even Chinese consumers -- know and value that.
When I visited China in 2010, Apple was almost nowhere to be found, either iOS devices or Mac's. During my most recent trip in 2013, OMG what a difference three years makes, especially in urban centres like Shanghai! That place is literally OWNED by Apple, with their products at every turn. Mainland China is still owned by those cheap Android junkers, but this is rapidly changing as well.
At the end of the day, however much they steal the disparate pieces, competitors cannot replicate the entire ecosystem. It is futile. Consumers-- even Chinese consumers -- know and value that.
Agreed, everyone is starting to finally wake up and smell the power of Apple's tightly integrated ecosystem, filled with quality-made apps and accessories, that NO ONE from the Android world can even dream about touching. Even those Chinese who are cheap (yes, it's in their nature, self-admitted so don't label me for saying it), are yearning for something better, and Apple is providing it in spades. There's also the aspect of Apple having now become a status symbol amongst the rapidly growing middle-class of China, where they are willing to spend more money to attain that feeling of status.
Yeah, I last visited in 2008, and there was not a single Apple product to be found anywhere!
What the anti-Cook trolls (we know who they are!) don't realize is that China is almost entirely the result of Tim Cook's brilliant strategy implementation.
Btw, I predict the Watch* is going to be gangbusters in China.
(I am hitherto forgoing the prefix 'Apple' or the Apple logo in favor of just the capital 'W'; I think everyone around the world pretty much knows what that means now).
Apple certainly is cautious in building up their presence in China... there are huge metropolitans with no Apple store in several hundred miles. In one sense, by not building out too quickly it still keeps the experience of shopping in an Apple store a very special occasion. Tin Cook would make an excellent fly fisherman...he knows how to tease along a market for maximum hunger for the product...
Now if he'd just stop that thing he does when he pulls up the corners of his eyes when talking to Chinese people... j/k
Computerland sold Macs in Beijing back in the mid-80s, closing in '87. I vaguely recall they were on Fuxingmenwai Avenue, the major east-west boulevard thru Beijing that passed between the Imperial Palace and Tiananmen Square. Of course, that's the same boulevard the tanks used when entering the Square.
Twenty-five new stores in a year and a half. I think this is an amazing pace of expansion, but I have nothing to compare it to. Anybody?
Do you know how much Wall Street values Apple's retail stores? Zero. You will never hear anything on Wall Street about Apple's retail dominance over all the other consumer tech companies around. It's like Apple's retail stores don't even exist despite being a huge key to Apple's customer loyalty and consistent sales. Apple's retail presence to Wall Street is like Apple's overseas cash reserve. Nearly non-existent. Wall Street will continue to deny Apple's overwhelming and probably untouchable dominance in this respect. Wall Street refuses to give value to something of Apple's no other consumer tech company has.
I'm sure there's nothing to compare it to in the consumer tech world. I don't know if it's worth comparing it to Starbucks rapid expansion years ago. Currently Apple has about 450 brick & mortar retail stores around the world. Can you imagine how long it would take for any consumer tech company starting now to catch up to Apple with that number of brick & mortar retail stores. Apple absolutely dominates consumer tech with retail stores and originally Apple retail stores were predicted by the retards to be a huge failure.
Do you know how much Wall Street values Apple's retail stores? Zero. You will never hear anything on Wall Street about Apple's retail dominance over all the other consumer tech companies around. It's like Apple's retail stores don't even exist despite being a huge key to Apple's customer loyalty and consistent sales. Apple's retail presence to Wall Street is like Apple's overseas cash reserve. Nearly non-existent. Wall Street will continue to deny Apple's overwhelming and probably untouchable dominance in this respect. Wall Street refuses to give value to something of Apple's no other consumer tech company has.
I'm sure there's nothing to compare it to in the consumer tech world. I don't know if it's worth comparing it to Starbucks rapid expansion years ago. Currently Apple has about 450 brick & mortar retail stores around the world. Can you imagine how long it would take for any consumer tech company starting now to catch up to Apple with that number of brick & mortar retail stores. Apple absolutely dominates consumer tech with retail stores and originally Apple retail stores were predicted by the retards to be a huge failure.
That's a good point! I don't recall any wall street analyst or those types of people ever talking about Apple's retail stores. Apple has something really special that nobody else has, and it's still growing at a fast rate, worldwide, and there's still countries and territories to expand into. All those idiots seem to talk about is "Has Apple reached its peak?", "Is this the new iPhone killer? (# 137)", "Apple sold 5 less iPads last quarter, they are surely doomed now!", and other such complete nonsense.