Apple's Massive New Hong Kong Store with 30-Foot Tall Glass Windows Leads Next Weekend's Grand Openings

mobilebuddha · Dec 10, 2012

Unless Apple owns or partially owns the US Government, Apple would not be able to make $ on the tax that you pay -> so the differences in after tax prices do not matter to Apple, what matters is the PRE-tax prices.

OP specifically said Apple's ->MARGIN<- in HK is the fattest. In fact, let me quote him:

" It makes SENSE that Apple is making such a HUGE push opening so many stores in ONE CITY given that Hong Kong offers Apple its HIGHEST PROFIT MARGINS in the world."

zukernik · Dec 10, 2012

BuckusToothnail said:
What are you talking about???

http://store.apple.com/hk/browse/home/shop_iphone/family/iphone5

iPhone 5 16GB - HK$5,588

According to TODAY'S conversion rate on XE, is USD$729.03.

http://www.xe.com/ucc/convert/?Amount=5588&From=HKD&To=USD

The announced price in the US is USD$649. How is the Hong Kong price NOT more expensive than in the US???

The iPad Mini 16GB is HK$2,588.

http://store.apple.com/hk/buy/home/shop_ipad/family/ipad_mini

That coverts to USD$333.93 using today's exchange rate on XE.

http://www.xe.com/ucc/convert/?Amount=+2588&From=HKD&To=USD

In the US it's USD$329. How is it again that "Apple products are actually cheaper [in Hong Kong] than they are in the USA"?

The iPad 4? It's HK$3,888 for the 16GB model.

http://store.apple.com/hk/buy/home/shop_ipad/family/ipad

According to XE, that's the equivalent to USD$501.67.

http://www.xe.com/ucc/convert/?Amount=3888&From=HKD&To=USD

In the US? USD$499.

So you're WRONG on EVERY count, and NO, I certainly DON'T BELIEVE YOU and I suggest YOU "check their website".

I really don't feel like arguing with you since so many people already explained to you that there are no sales taxes in HK and that the US prices do not include the sales taxes. If you include them, it makes it more expensive. If you arbitrarily don't want to count them of course then its up to you. I'm going to arbitrarily not count the premium for 64gb over 16gb, and I'm going to not count the premium for 4g over wifi iPads: oh look, 64gb 4G iPads are now so cheap!

haruhiko · Dec 10, 2012

zukernik said:
I really don't feel like arguing with you since so many people already explained to you that there are no sales taxes in HK and that the US prices do not include the sales taxes. If you include them, it makes it more expensive. If you arbitrarily don't want to count them of course then its up to you. I'm going to arbitrarily not count the premium for 64gb over 16gb, and I'm going to not count the premium for 4g over wifi iPads: oh look, 64gb iPads are now so cheap!

He said he was talking about profit margin but I don't know why should I care *as a consumer* for how much Apple is earning from me or how much is going to the government or a random worker in Foxconn or to Samsung or to Corning. To me it's how much I actually have to pay. Whether it's expensive or not it depends on the actual amount that I have to pay.

I also mentioned that the iPhone 5 is an unfortunate exception to "Apple products in HK are cheaper than that of the USA" because Apple raised the prices of iPhone 5 in Hong Kong by 10% due to great price difference between the China version and HK version which has led to serious scalping and smuggling. I myself earned a whooping 54.7% profit by selling 2 iPhone 5 16GB for HK$8650 each in October.

Dreamer2go · Dec 10, 2012

more reason for me to avoid Causeway Bay...

As much as I love Hong Kong, my home... it's WAYYY too crowded.

zukernik · Dec 10, 2012

haruhiko said:
He said he was talking about profit margin but I don't know why should I care *as a consumer* for how much Apple is earning from me or how much is going to the government or a random worker in Foxconn or to Samsung or to Corning. To me it's how much I actually have to pay. Whether it's expensive or not it depends on the actual amount that I have to pay.

I also mentioned that the iPhone 5 is an unfortunate exception to "Apple products in HK are cheaper than that of the USA" because Apple raised the prices of iPhone 5 in Hong Kong by 10% due to great price difference between the China version and HK version which has led to serious scalping and smuggling. I myself earned a whooping 54.7% profit by selling 2 iPhone 5 16GB for HK$8650 each in October.

Oh man, I had no idea that Apple stores' entire business model was to sell products above cost in order to achieve a profit margin. I thought they were selling everything at cost, and that their stores and new products paid for themselves, like magic! I am very disappointed in Apple for making profits out of all the money I voluntarily gave them. I think we should all stop buying Apple products and buy one of these cheap android tablets that is so unpopular that merchants have to sell them at a loss; that way we can make sure nobody profits.

BuckusToothnail · Dec 10, 2012

zukernik said:
I really don't feel like arguing with you since so many people already explained to you that there are no sales taxes in HK and that the US prices do not include the sales taxes. If you include them, it makes it more expensive. If you arbitrarily don't want to count them of course then its up to you. I'm going to arbitrarily not count the premium for 64gb over 16gb, and I'm going to not count the premium for 4g over wifi iPads: oh look, 64gb 4G iPads are now so cheap!

Wow, you are truly EMBARRASSING yourself even MORE.

Read the post above you or perhaps follow the thread a little more closely as your stolen "argument" (from "haruhiko") has already been DEBUNKED.

Plus who do you think you're FOOLING? You're trying to CHANGE your argument so to not look like such a fool and yet you actually are looking MORE like a fool by doing so.

This is EXACTLY what you wrote which I replied to:

zukernik said:
Apple products are actually cheaper here than they are in the USA, check their website if you don't believe me.

Yes, I did EXACTLY that, showing you LINKS from the Apple WEBSITES (HK and US) which showed you were WRONG.

And not only did you NOT mention Hong Kong having no "sales tax" in your post (which is something I BROUGHT UP in my original post), but sales taxes are NOT listed on Apple's website either, which directly CONTRADICTS your "revised" argument.

Nice job buddy!

AND please tell me, in WHICH US state are the state AND local SALES TAXES COMBINED at least 12.3%?

Because that's the MINIMUM they would NEED to be for the unlocked iPhone 5 in the US being priced at USD$649 to be even the SAME price as it would be in Hong Kong, which is the equivalent of USD$729.03, much less be MORE EXPENSIVE like YOU CLAIM.

I tell you which US state has combined state and local sales taxes at 12.3% or higher - NO US STATE!

The HIGHEST applicable sales taxes in the US for the iPhone 5 would be in Illnois, which combined MAX state and local sales taxes would be 11.5%. Even with these sales taxes, buying the iPhone in the US would STILL be LESS EXPENSIVE than purchasing it in Hong Kong.

Now if one bought their iPhone 5 in New Hampshire, which has ZERO sales taxes for BOTH state AND local, then the iPhone 5 would cost USD$80 LESS than it would in Hong Kong!

Good one buddy!

So not ONLY did you try to CHANGE your "argument", but the "argument" you changed to is STILL WRONG!!!

And despite all this, it STILL doesn't address the original point I was making, which is about Apple's PROFIT MARGIN in Hong Kong versus other countries including the US. Sales taxes DON'T FACTOR in Apple's profit margins because they go to their respective governments where the products were purchased, NOT Apple.

party · Dec 10, 2012

Hong Kong is one of the most densely populated cities in the world, a huge tourist attraction, a global financial center and a place where Apple makes a lot of profit. It makes sense that there are so many Apple stores here!

And all of the Apple stores look gorgeous.

zukernik · Dec 10, 2012

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grammar

By the way, since airlines pay nothing to fly you if you don't include the cost of the airplanes, gas, taxes, staff, food and promotion, does that mean they are ripping you off if they charge you anything more than $0 for a seat?

labars · Dec 10, 2012

BuckusToothnail said:
Wow, you are truly EMBARRASSING yourself even MORE.

Read the post above you or perhaps follow the thread a little more closely as your stolen "argument" (from "haruhiko") has already been DEBUNKED.

Plus who do you think you're FOOLING? You're trying to CHANGE your argument so to not look like such a fool and yet you actually are looking MORE like a fool by doing so.

This is EXACTLY what you wrote which I replied to:

Yes, I did EXACTLY that, showing you LINKS from the Apple WEBSITES (HK and US) which showed you were WRONG.

And not only did you NOT mention Hong Kong having no "sales tax" in your post (which is something I BROUGHT UP in my original post), but sales taxes are NOT listed on Apple's website either, which directly CONTRADICTS your "revised" argument.

Nice job buddy!

AND please tell me, in WHICH US state are the state AND local SALES TAXES COMBINED at least 12.3%?

Because that's the MINIMUM they would NEED to be for the unlocked iPhone 5 in the US being priced at USD$649 to be even the SAME price as it would be in Hong Kong, which is the equivalent of USD$729.03, much less be MORE EXPENSIVE like YOU CLAIM.

I tell you which US state has combined state and local sales taxes at 12.3% or higher - NO US STATE!

The HIGHEST applicable sales taxes in the US for the iPhone 5 would be in Illnois, which combined MAX state and local sales taxes would be 11.5%. Even with these sales taxes, buying the iPhone in the US would STILL be LESS EXPENSIVE than purchasing it in Hong Kong.

Now if one bought their iPhone 5 in New Hampshire, which has ZERO sales taxes for BOTH state AND local, then the iPhone 5 would cost USD$80 LESS than it would in Hong Kong!

Good one buddy!

So not ONLY did you try to CHANGE your "argument", but the "argument" you changed to is STILL WRONG!!!

And despite all this, it STILL doesn't address the original point I was making, which is about Apple's PROFIT MARGIN in Hong Kong versus other countries including the US. Sales taxes DON'T FACTOR in Apple's profit margins because they go to their respective governments where the products were purchased, NOT Apple.

Capitalizing every other word does not make you look smarter.

Middleman-77 · Dec 10, 2012

Causeway Bay will definitely be a huge draw for folks as it's literally right down my street (like 10 mins away). While it's fine to have a store here, I do believe having more than the one in Central will affect Apple resellers here in HK in the most detrimental way, as the resellers main income is from the hardware sales...

BuckusToothnail · Dec 10, 2012

labars said:
Capitalizing every other word does not make you look smarter.

But making an argument based on SYNTAX rather than addressing the points presented DOES make you look DUMBER.

iMcLovin · Dec 10, 2012

this is great stuff, they are opening these stores in an extreme rate. Now how about shipping my iMac

Drunken Master · Dec 10, 2012

*checks to see if we have an Apple store in Taiwan yet*

HarryKNN21 · Dec 10, 2012

This opening does nothing good to me coz I live 40km northwest from Causeway Bay

FFArchitect · Dec 10, 2012

BuckusToothnail said:
It makes SENSE that Apple is making such a HUGE push opening so many stores in ONE CITY given that Hong Kong offers Apple its HIGHEST PROFIT MARGINS in the world.

Why? Hong Kong Island is ONLY 26 miles away from the Foxconn plant in Shenzhen that assembles and packages Apple products.

So instead of shipping their products, say, 7,000 miles from Shenzhen, China to the western border of the US, with the shipping cost BUILT INTO the retail prices of their products, Apple just needs to send their products in a TRUCK for less than the hour commute between Shenzhen and Hong Kong.

AND ironically Apple products are MORE EXPENSIVE in Hong Kong than in the US, even further BOOSTING Apple's profit margin beyond just keeping what it saves on shipping.

And given that there is NO SALES TAX in Hong Kong, Apple doesn't have to ADJUST its retail prices in Hong Kong to accommodate sales taxes like it does in mainland China, so its profit margins are higher in Hong Kong than ANY OTHER major Chinese city.

And given Hong Kong shares a border with Shenzhen, there's less costs for Apple shipping to Hong Kong than to even mainland Chinese cities Shanghai or Beijing.

So for all the people complaining that Apple is screwing them with their high prices for Chinese made goods, just take note of the fact that Apple is SCREWING THE CHINESE even more!

Looking at your past posts, you clearly hate Apple - question: is this a hobby for you to frequent MacRumors and bash Apple and others? It's quite transparent.

CodeJingle · Dec 10, 2012

BuckusToothnail said:
It makes SENSE that Apple is making such a HUGE push opening so many stores in ONE CITY given that Hong Kong offers Apple its HIGHEST PROFIT MARGINS in the world.

While you may be right, China is the largest market in the world, and Hong Kong is one of the most dense cities on the planet. So there are several compelling reasons why any tech company would want to make a flagship store in Hong Kong.

Foxconn makes the Wii U, XBox 360, and PS3. Nintendo Wii U is made in Senzhen and Nintendo has an office in Hong Kong http://www.nintendo.com.hk/ I wonder if there is any relation there.

Pegatron in Taiwan makes Microsoft Surface, and soon Taiwan will have Microsoft Surface, at $91 higher than US retail price ($590 vs 499), even though the plant is right next store http://www.wantchinatimes.com/news-subclass-cnt.aspx?id=20121027000069&cid=1102&MainCatID=11

XboxMySocks · Dec 10, 2012

BuckusToothnail said:
What are you talking about???

http://store.apple.com/hk/browse/home/shop_iphone/family/iphone5

iPhone 5 16GB - HK$5,588

According to TODAY'S conversion rate on XE, is USD$729.03.

http://www.xe.com/ucc/convert/?Amount=5588&From=HKD&To=USD

The announced price in the US is USD$649. How is the Hong Kong price NOT more expensive than in the US???

The iPad Mini 16GB is HK$2,588.

http://store.apple.com/hk/buy/home/shop_ipad/family/ipad_mini

That coverts to USD$333.93 using today's exchange rate on XE.

http://www.xe.com/ucc/convert/?Amount=+2588&From=HKD&To=USD

In the US it's USD$329. How is it again that "Apple products are actually cheaper [in Hong Kong] than they are in the USA"?

The iPad 4? It's HK$3,888 for the 16GB model.

http://store.apple.com/hk/buy/home/shop_ipad/family/ipad

According to XE, that's the equivalent to USD$501.67.

http://www.xe.com/ucc/convert/?Amount=3888&From=HKD&To=USD

In the US? USD$499.

So you're WRONG on EVERY count, and NO, I certainly DON'T BELIEVE YOU and I suggest YOU "check their website".

Did he not state that the HK sales price includes tax? In which case it certainly is cheaper.

somethingelsefl · Dec 10, 2012

Why is the text on the curtain graphic only in English? Shouldn't it be at least subtitled in both official langagues of the home city (English AND Catonese)?

Am I confused on this point?

chirpie · Dec 10, 2012

XboxMySocks said:
Did he not state that the HK sales price includes tax? In which case it certainly is cheaper.

Eh, the iPhone is still more expensive and the other two are cheaper. Regardless, there aren't enough animated popcorn .gif's to handle the anger going on in this thread.

Eric E. Schmidt · Dec 10, 2012

BuckusToothnail said:
But making an argument based on SYNTAX rather than addressing the points presented DOES make you look DUMBER.

not sure it was an argument, merely a comment. besides, what's this discussion about? a couple of dollars difference in profit? man, caps worthy stuff for sure.

if you trade internationally, i think you prefer prices (taxes not included) to be fairly equal all over regardless of where production takes place.

BuckusToothnail · Dec 10, 2012

XboxMySocks said:
Did he not state that the HK sales price includes tax? In which case it certainly is cheaper.

Wow. There's NO sales tax in Hong Kong which is what I WROTE in my original post, NOT him, AND even including US sales tax from ANY state the iPhone 5 would STILL be cheaper purchased in the US than in Hong Kong.

Of course, this was all mentioned in various previous posts on this thread which you'd know if you actually bothered to READ it first.

----------

Eric E. Schmidt said:
not sure it was an argument, merely a comment. besides, what's this discussion about? a couple of dollars difference in profit? man, caps worthy stuff for sure.

if you trade internationally, i think you prefer prices (taxes not included) to be fairly equal all over regardless of where production takes place.

If you actually bothered to READ the thread you would have seen it mentioned MULTIPLE times the iPhone 5 costs USD$80 MORE in Hong Kong than it is in the US, not "a couple of dollars difference". And yes, I even provided web links.

And Apple products are FAR from being "fairly equal all over regardless of where production takes place", you're completely CLUELESS.

Do some research and get back to me how much the iPhone 5 costs in the UK and Europe compared to the US.

"Fairly equal"? WRONG!

BuckusToothnail · Dec 10, 2012

CodeJingle said:
While you may be right, China is the largest market in the world, and Hong Kong is one of the most dense cities on the planet. So there are several compelling reasons why any tech company would want to make a flagship store in Hong Kong.

Foxconn makes the Wii U, XBox 360, and PS3. Nintendo Wii U is made in Senzhen and Nintendo has an office in Hong Kong http://www.nintendo.com.hk/ I wonder if there is any relation there.

Pegatron in Taiwan makes Microsoft Surface, and soon Taiwan will have Microsoft Surface, at $91 higher than US retail price ($590 vs 499), even though the plant is right next store http://www.wantchinatimes.com/news-subclass-cnt.aspx?id=20121027000069&cid=1102&MainCatID=11

WRONG! Apple is opening its THIRD store in Hong Kong, not just one, and the reasons I've stated are ABSOLUTELY valid.

China is also NOT "the largest market in the world" for Apple, that would be the US. In fact, Apple is currently only the SIXTH best-selling smartphone brand in China. Samsung, of course, is number 1 in China (and the world for that matter), but Apple is even being beat by local Chinese smartphone companies like Coolpad and ZTE.

Plus, I was clearly drawing a distinction between Hong Kong and mainland China given Hong Kong gets not only a DIFFERENT pricing structure for Apple products from China, but also a different RELEASE SCHEDULE. In fact, Apple considers them to be SEPARATE markets, as do MOST tech companies.

But you wouldn't know that would you because you've clearly demonstrated you have NO CLUE what you're talking about with regards to Hong Kong, China or anything else for that matter.

BuckusToothnail · Dec 10, 2012

FFArchitect said:
Looking at your past posts, you clearly hate Apple - question: is this a hobby for you to frequent MacRumors and bash Apple and others? It's quite transparent.

Yes, I hate Apple so much I've had numerous MacBooks, 2 iPads, every iPhone that's come out, numerous iPods, and various Apple and Mac desktops throughout the years since the Apple 2+ including the Lisa and the ORIGINAL Macintosh.

If I mentioned Lemonade Stand, you'd have NO CLUE what I was talking about, would you? What was YOUR first Apple product, the iPod mini?

But oh, if anyone says anything FACTUAL about Apple, they must HATE Apple right?

WRONG! It's called "thinking for yourself". You should try that sometime.

babybanana · Dec 10, 2012

Whoo

Can't wait to go to HK and check it out

apesta · Dec 10, 2012

Heard from a friend of mine that will be working at the causeway bay store. Its gonna be interesting to see how itll look inside. I wonder if they will put a glass staircase through all 3 floors.

About the pricing in HK, i just went back there couple weeks ago and i must say pricing there is cheaper compare to Canada cause of no sales tax. I imagine its cheaper to compare to some US states cause of taxs. Ive bought a mac air and couple apple accessories and saved few bucks.

Apple's Massive New Hong Kong Store with 30-Foot Tall Glass Windows Leads Next Weekend's Grand Openings

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