“Apple should consider launching its products earlier in China, and expand its online distribution there, if it wants to avoid future displays of customer dissatisfaction like Friday’s egg throwing at a Beijing company store, according to analysts,” Michael Kan reports for IDG News.
“Following the incident, Apple said it will suspend its iPhone 4S sales at its five retails stores located in Beijing and Shanghai. The smartphone, however, is still on sale through the company’s online store and authorized retailers, such as China Unicom, the country’s official carrier of the Apple iPhone,” Kan reports. “Over the past few years, Apple has worked to expand its retail distribution in China to also include mainstream retailers in the country, said Nicole Peng, a research director with analyst firm Canalys. But many customers are still unaware of this, and believe they have to buy the company’s latest products from its official stores. ‘They can get the device from other outlets, rather than go to the main Apple store,’ she said. ‘What surprised me was many people didn’t get the message.'”
Kan reports, “On Friday morning, Apple’s store in Beijing’s Sanlitun district had more than 400 customers waiting to buy the iPhone 4S. Other Apple stores in China also had massive crowds waiting to buy the device, with Apple reporting selling out of the smartphone. Educating Chinese consumers on Apple’s other retail channels could help reduce the crowds at company stores, Peng said. But Apple could do even more by also releasing its latest devices at the same time as it does for it’s U.S. product launches, she added.”
Read more in the full article here.
MacDailyNews Take: They weren’t “customers,” they were scalpers! Sheesh.
We have one question that trumps all others: Who the heck goes to iPhone launch days with eggs in their pockets?
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