I'm an expat living and working in Germany for over 19 years now (wife is German). From day one, working and living here was like going back in time at least 5 years. A great opportunity then and now, since you get a view into the future if you keep up with tech in the states. Thing to know though, is that Germans and Europeans as a whole, are traditionalists and VERY skeptical, and it is extremely difficult to initiate change in the way, and how they do things. However it can be done (read below for suggestions).
My first job in Germany was making presentations and doing training for an Authorized Apple Retailer, helping to move German ad agencies and print shops/plants away from typesetting machines and traditional litho (I still do consulting in this area). Germans hate to mess around with what they know, hence even today, getting some shops to move to OS X (many still on 9) is difficult. Move a button on their favorite app, and they go bezerk, and most of all, their productivity goes down sometimes up to 30% for many months. This is a HUGE deal, since as someone mentioned above... labor laws and practices are quite different in Europe, with reality being that most shops are working at human capacity, minus 1. A 30% or even 10% drop in productivity is a monstrous strain on a business here financially, so what do they do? Go with what works and don't change anything... not drastically anyway like an OS change or an app upgrade like to CS3, etc.
Very important financially speaking and specifically in regards to consumers, is that regardless of the population statistics in Germany or Europe as a whole, you have to consider the "disposable income factor" as well as the consumer credit traditions here. Both of those, in reality and statistics, put a very small minority of potential clients available for Apple to sell to, as apposed to the states. People here just don't have 1-3k to spend on a computer, considering just the other day I saw an add for a Toshiba 15,4 notebook from a major electronics retailer for only 300,00 EUR. Granted, an older model and WinCrap... but you can see the tough sell coming... even tougher here since a lot of business people don't even want XP, let alone an Apple(?)... BootCamp(?).... can't install Win2000(?)... 10 TIMES more expensive(!?!)... and last but not least, if it looks toooooo easy, then it can't possibly be a good "computer" (skeptics coming into play here). There are many more factors why it takes a while longer here, but above is the short list.
Note: The above observations are NOT meant to slight or diss the Germans or Europeans in any way. It's just to point out that the retail, legal, sales and workforce environment is completely different... which REQUIRES Apple to "Think Differently"! I've been saying this for almost 20 years now, and I'd just LOVE to see them get it right this time around.
1) A good "start" (relaunch) in Europe as a whole (which would include the UK) for Apple, would be to peg their prices closer to the actual exchange rate. Currently, a Macbook for example should be roughly priced at 699,- or no more than 749,- (699,- being the preferred marketers choice surely).
2) MUCH MORE advertising similar to what's available stateside. A huge selling point, and even larger than it is in the states, is the secure nature of the Mac OS. The media here has such a stronghold on current thinking, that it's constantly purveyed that even turning on a computer, you can have all of your life savings stolen (really... and Germans save a lot!.. a big thing!). In this vein of thought, ads must be targeted to what's important within each country, or at least Europe-wide, aesthetically as well as culturally. Europeans are traditional vacationers, up to 6 weeks a year. Show ads how iPhoto and iMovie make personal moments, fast, easy, painless and fun to save(!), backup(!), use and share. Aesthetics are already moving in the right direction, with aluminum and black as apposed to white, which looks horrendous in Europe with it's drab rustic backdrop. Note: case in point, the resurgence of white cars. Audi, BMW, and Mercedes are offering them here too, but you are generally advised not to lease one, since the color will devalue the car at return time. I personally don't want one (black on black only for me!), but I asked recently while getting info on the new A5 Cabrio for Spring 2009 delivery
3) On the business side, there MUST be more ads revealing how everything syncs seamlessly, and the built-in ease of use of using Mac and OS X for everyday work (Spotlight, iWorks, etc. as opposed to MSO). Rant coming: why oh why Apple, did you not come up with Quick View earlier, or at least include it in the last Tiger upgrade? Within the graphics community here... people just drool when I show them (with SneakPeekPro installed)... but the bosses won't go for the whole enchilada (Leopard) just yet; maybe next year. Afraid of the productivity drop I mentioned above, since we're busting at the seams at the moment with orders (economy is booming again after 3 years of stagnation).
To summarize: give Europeans the opportunity to embrace the Mac as something they inspired: industrial design purity was born here; and fits their lifestyle far better than Windoze: security and family-time is more important than the next Firewall, Windoze, Anti-spy and virus update, and backups (TimeMachine).
Sorry for the length... I must learn to edit better....
Doesn't seem like there's a good enough reason to be there, so no love lost...
I would have thought 90,000 potential customers was a good enough reason to be there.
From what I gather this event used to be the most attended Apple event anywhere in the world so it seems odd to me that Apple seem to have abandoned it just as they are expanding their sales presence in Europe.
As a person who lives just next to London, I agree entirely.
Forget this overpriced windy shipping-lane island.
Do you know how many sales Apple make in each European country?
Which is there No. 1 market, No. 2 market, etc.
No? I didn't think so.
Presumably Apple is opening stores in the UK first for a reason. Maybe they have the highest sales potential or maybe it is just easier to open stores in the UK. I don't know and I don't care. Apple Stores are great as they help convert people to the Apple brand which is what we all want. I just hope they open one near me.
Apple can't open stores everywhere at once but I'm sure before not to long they will have stores throughout the rest of Europe.
...Presumably Apple is opening stores in the UK first for a reason...
Perhaps because the UK is the only major English-speaking country in Europe? It's a start, a foothold for Apple USA to get into Europe. I don't think Europeans should be too offended. Australia, New Zealand, Dubai, Singapore, Taiwan, Mexico City... I'm sure they all would love a big chunky sexy Apple Store in their major cities. Consumers and businesspeople alike.
For example you can't get adidas shoes from the US in Germany (they've a complete different line-up). If you can get those shoes, they cost like 30$ in the US and 80€ (ca. 110$ !!!) here ... you're asking why nobody is wearing US clothes?
Macs are seen as "designer only" computers and way too expensive in Germany. Everyone asks me "whoo you've an Apple computer, wasn't that expensive?" ... after asking them what they had to pay for their whole system with Vista, AV, Firewall, Office et cetera they found out that they had to pay more. They even don't know that you can get a MacBook for around 1,000€. Apple needs ads like "Computer Bild says better than Vista, only 995€"
The next reason is that every school uses Windows. You learn how to use Word, Excel and Powerpoint. Why should you buy a complete different OS? Well ... at a presentation I plugged my MacBook to the beamer, read the notes out and used the Remote instead of a not really working bluetooth mouse
edit: Many people think that Apple makes nothing but iPods and iTunes
Comments
My first job in Germany was making presentations and doing training for an Authorized Apple Retailer, helping to move German ad agencies and print shops/plants away from typesetting machines and traditional litho (I still do consulting in this area). Germans hate to mess around with what they know, hence even today, getting some shops to move to OS X (many still on 9) is difficult. Move a button on their favorite app, and they go bezerk, and most of all, their productivity goes down sometimes up to 30% for many months. This is a HUGE deal, since as someone mentioned above... labor laws and practices are quite different in Europe, with reality being that most shops are working at human capacity, minus 1. A 30% or even 10% drop in productivity is a monstrous strain on a business here financially, so what do they do? Go with what works and don't change anything... not drastically anyway like an OS change or an app upgrade like to CS3, etc.
Very important financially speaking and specifically in regards to consumers, is that regardless of the population statistics in Germany or Europe as a whole, you have to consider the "disposable income factor" as well as the consumer credit traditions here. Both of those, in reality and statistics, put a very small minority of potential clients available for Apple to sell to, as apposed to the states. People here just don't have 1-3k to spend on a computer, considering just the other day I saw an add for a Toshiba 15,4 notebook from a major electronics retailer for only 300,00 EUR. Granted, an older model and WinCrap... but you can see the tough sell coming... even tougher here since a lot of business people don't even want XP, let alone an Apple(?)... BootCamp(?).... can't install Win2000(?)... 10 TIMES more expensive(!?!)... and last but not least, if it looks toooooo easy, then it can't possibly be a good "computer" (skeptics coming into play here). There are many more factors why it takes a while longer here, but above is the short list.
Note: The above observations are NOT meant to slight or diss the Germans or Europeans in any way. It's just to point out that the retail, legal, sales and workforce environment is completely different... which REQUIRES Apple to "Think Differently"! I've been saying this for almost 20 years now, and I'd just LOVE to see them get it right this time around.
1) A good "start" (relaunch) in Europe as a whole (which would include the UK) for Apple, would be to peg their prices closer to the actual exchange rate. Currently, a Macbook for example should be roughly priced at 699,- or no more than 749,- (699,- being the preferred marketers choice surely).
2) MUCH MORE advertising similar to what's available stateside. A huge selling point, and even larger than it is in the states, is the secure nature of the Mac OS. The media here has such a stronghold on current thinking, that it's constantly purveyed that even turning on a computer, you can have all of your life savings stolen (really... and Germans save a lot!.. a big thing!). In this vein of thought, ads must be targeted to what's important within each country, or at least Europe-wide, aesthetically as well as culturally. Europeans are traditional vacationers, up to 6 weeks a year. Show ads how iPhoto and iMovie make personal moments, fast, easy, painless and fun to save(!), backup(!), use and share. Aesthetics are already moving in the right direction, with aluminum and black as apposed to white, which looks horrendous in Europe with it's drab rustic backdrop. Note: case in point, the resurgence of white cars. Audi, BMW, and Mercedes are offering them here too, but you are generally advised not to lease one, since the color will devalue the car at return time. I personally don't want one (black on black only for me!), but I asked recently while getting info on the new A5 Cabrio for Spring 2009 delivery
3) On the business side, there MUST be more ads revealing how everything syncs seamlessly, and the built-in ease of use of using Mac and OS X for everyday work (Spotlight, iWorks, etc. as opposed to MSO). Rant coming: why oh why Apple, did you not come up with Quick View earlier, or at least include it in the last Tiger upgrade? Within the graphics community here... people just drool when I show them (with SneakPeekPro installed)... but the bosses won't go for the whole enchilada (Leopard) just yet; maybe next year. Afraid of the productivity drop I mentioned above, since we're busting at the seams at the moment with orders (economy is booming again after 3 years of stagnation).
To summarize: give Europeans the opportunity to embrace the Mac as something they inspired: industrial design purity was born here; and fits their lifestyle far better than Windoze: security and family-time is more important than the next Firewall, Windoze, Anti-spy and virus update, and backups (TimeMachine).
Sorry for the length... I must learn to edit better....
As a person who lives just next to London, I agree entirely.
Forget this overpriced windy shipping-lane island.
Is that the same overpriced island where the Apple products are cheaper than other parts of Europe?
Doesn't seem like there's a good enough reason to be there, so no love lost...
I would have thought 90,000 potential customers was a good enough reason to be there.
From what I gather this event used to be the most attended Apple event anywhere in the world so it seems odd to me that Apple seem to have abandoned it just as they are expanding their sales presence in Europe.
As a person who lives just next to London, I agree entirely.
Forget this overpriced windy shipping-lane island.
Do you know how many sales Apple make in each European country?
Which is there No. 1 market, No. 2 market, etc.
No? I didn't think so.
Presumably Apple is opening stores in the UK first for a reason. Maybe they have the highest sales potential or maybe it is just easier to open stores in the UK. I don't know and I don't care. Apple Stores are great as they help convert people to the Apple brand which is what we all want. I just hope they open one near me.
Apple can't open stores everywhere at once but I'm sure before not to long they will have stores throughout the rest of Europe.
...Presumably Apple is opening stores in the UK first for a reason...
Perhaps because the UK is the only major English-speaking country in Europe?
Macs are seen as "designer only" computers and way too expensive in Germany. Everyone asks me "whoo you've an Apple computer, wasn't that expensive?" ... after asking them what they had to pay for their whole system with Vista, AV, Firewall, Office et cetera they found out that they had to pay more. They even don't know that you can get a MacBook for around 1,000€. Apple needs ads like "Computer Bild says better than Vista, only 995€"
The next reason is that every school uses Windows. You learn how to use Word, Excel and Powerpoint. Why should you buy a complete different OS? Well ... at a presentation I plugged my MacBook to the beamer, read the notes out and used the Remote instead of a not really working bluetooth mouse
edit: Many people think that Apple makes nothing but iPods and iTunes