ntg said:
So how come so many people who see my 20Gb iPod say " Oh yeah! That's that music player I saw advertised on Channel 4" and then promptly ask me where I can get one of the newer coloured ones...?
I think the whole problem here is that Apple has traditionally been lousy at advertising this side of the pond, hence the bigger single market is America.
However, I feel this is the vicious circle that needs to be broken by Apple before it's percentage market share will climb to the target 20% (or higher, but I hope not too much!)
After all, according to the market analysis, it's only approximately 50% of Apple products that are sold in America, and the rate of sales growth in Europe is far higher than America.
So come on Apple, stop keeping all your iPods in one basket! The kit is good, and will sell itself if only people are aware they can buy it!!
(I can't wait for the opening of the London store - I hope to be there!)
Nigel.
I couldn't agree with you more. My iPod makes my associates drool, but they have no interest in the rest of the Apple range. As you pointed out, the advertising and awareness needs to be that Apple is not just a serious contender, but also that it's products are technical leaders.
However although I also believe the capacity for growth in Europe is very high, the problem, and this is my opinion and not based on any facts, is that the market will not sustain a big push without enough substantiation. My three 'switcher' conditions I consider to be substantial enough:
1. iPod and iTMS success continues to blow out allcomers
2. Wintel virus numbers continue to rise unabated
3. Poor and unconvincing rollout of Longhorn
So that's why I give it 2 years.
Mr
pants, it's not just about magasineas and newspapers, it's about consumer understanding. Two of the last three people I knew who wanted to buy a new PC were concerned about old fashioned things. One wanted value for money in disk space thinking a 200gb computer will always be better for him than one of 100gb. Another said the deal from Currys was ideal because it came with desk, printer, camera, scanner, and broadband (? - actually how it was sold, despite the fact she lived in a village on the far east coast of Yorkshire with no means of broadband connectivity). The third actually thought a little harder about what they were buying and plumped for an eMac, never looked back since.
The above 3 cases are not cross-sectional, but I think they confirm the lack of knowledge the UK market still has in procuring a computer. The US and the Japanese market is more sophisticated and so Apple should support them more, and then build on the above three conditions expand in the UK.
I'm not saying I'm right, it's just the feeling I've got with it all.