“Gadgets manufacturer and darling of the hipster set, Apple Computers [sic] plans to sell its products in Russia without the use of middlemen, bringing the price of its trendy equipment down,” Evgeniya Chaykovskaya reports for The Moscow News.
“Apple has registered a company Apple Rus and assigned Vitaly Morozko, the corporation’s local legal advisor, as its director general, Kommersant reported,” Chaykovskaya reports. “According to an unnamed manager of an Apple distributor, the company could start direct sales in Russia in 2013, but it is unclear when first Apple Stores will open.”
Chaykovskaya reports, “‘You can often hear the opinion that as soon as Apple Store comes, the prices will fall,’ said spokeswoman for Re:Store Retail Group, Lyudmila Semushina. ‘The prices will not fall. For the majority of Apple products, apart from iPhone, we have practically the same prices as in European countries, and they will remain. The products for Russia are not bought in via the U.S.A., but via Europe. The only thing that can change for the better for the consumer is that there will be a smaller delay between announcing a new Apple gadget, and its appearance on the Russian market. But we are not the first place in this market. For Apple there are three major markets: U.S.A., Europe, China, who buy many times more than Russia,’ Semushina told RIA Novosti.”
Read more in the full article here.
MacDailyNews Take: Rejoice, Russian hipsters who love trendy gadgets, Apple Computers is coming!
[Thanks to MacDailyNews Reader “Edward W.” for the heads up.]
“Gadgets”… written by a Windows user I’m sure.
In former Soviet Russia, Apple retails you!
Good luck with opening Apple stores the honest way without bribes and kickbacks in Putins Russia. Just ask IKEA how easy that goes!
In Russia, stores open you.
I am 2 minds f this over expansion ..
It is great for growth and create awareness plus for us consumers , it becomes personable.
But this amazing growth will
Come at a greater cost down the road .
Over expansion is a human failure .
The fault with corporation is the $$$ will overcome what it makes a company great.
Apple is simply a “Gadgets manufacturer and darling of the hipster set” ?
I’m surprised Chaykovskaya didn’t also report that “although there is limited software for Apple products, they do get fewer viruses than Windows computers.”
… Oh look there Honey! Now we can see an Apple store from our house too!…
All your stores are belong to us.
Apple has had retail stores in Japan since 2003
Russia isn’t the only country without an Apple Store. In Israel there’s only iDigital. After purchasing Anobit and opening its own local development center, there’s no reason not to have a real Apple Store there.
Good luck Apple, don’t cross Putin who doesn’t seem to like to much P_ssy in one place.
send Browett to the one in Siberia for ‘re-education’ ?
“For the majority of Apple products, apart from iPhone, we have practically the same prices as in European countries, and they will remain.”
Bullshit. The official (so called white) price for iPhone 4s in Petersburg is roughly 35000 roubles. People whose business is to sell new iPhones bought in retail shops in Finland (gray market) sell them here for 25000 roubles. Yep, practically the same price.