subject: E-highway of trade: Threats to Apple-Unicom in Chinese market [print this page] E-highway of trade: Threats to Apple-Unicom in Chinese market
Gadget trading and production is not new to China, perhaps what is new is the genuineness and motivation with which Apple iphone has hit the Chinese market. With a welcoming tone more than bees like consumer attitude', ipad in China was first launched in partnership with Unicom. Later when they felt the market is too much young and promising when it comes to international electronics, Apple decided to give in a try, and it worked!
With more than 25 retail outlets on the way to completion, Apple has a fortune in the Chinese consumer market, and of course there is an apparent reason for it. Chinese consumers are too bored by the same stereotypical Chinese made local products, while at the same time they are exhausted too for facing off the Chinese replica market. Had the Chinese growing economy still liked the small scale replica industry, it would have been difficult for Apple to penetrate, but luckily, they are off with the replica factor' now.
Piracy is still on the verge and is the biggest threat to Appleholoic' consumers, who encompass developers and software engineers, burning the midnight lamp in constructing free application themes and applications. Android has given an edge not only to the Apple industry, but also to the world of mobile phone theme players.
Another threat that would be in the wake of penetrating the Chinese market would be from Nokia, the giant that has ruled everybody out off the e-phone market, and while Nokia is still insecure in the South Asian market (for the reason now Asian Nokia market seems to be mature enough and is in daggers drawn with the local cell phones that do offer cheaper rate along with Android support that Nokia does not offer) it has a fierce competition with Google!
How could Apple underestimate the channels that provide illegal production of iphones, other than the low-priced replicas that most of the Chinese have discarded? Of course Unicom would handle most of the hindrances that Apple ought to face in Chinese market but who will bell the secret corridors through which computer superstores and mobile markets are going to knock Apple out?
