Apple Planning to Open 25 Retail Stores in China

[niuniu]

Pfft, they have a giant store in the middle of Sydney. They can afford one in Hong Kong.

And NY and London, and Paris and..

 

[mex4eric]

Hong Kong and Shanghai are musts because of the money in those two places. Hope they are #2 and #3 for China.

 

[deconstruct60]

Will a Taipei store count as one of the 25?

Didn't Apple pull all of its assembly factory work out of Taiwan ? How are they going to appease the Communists if cut Taipei any slack ?

 

[007bond4321]

Embedded Video

Eric/Arn:
I like the embedded video, FWIW. Seems like you haven't done much of that in the past.

 

[naticom]

Place one in Taiwan, please! And do not count the one in Taiwan into China's 25

 

[FoxDavis]

Maybe Apple should take that 40 Billion and put a little towards releasing the new Macbook Pro. Come on already!

 

[Bull]

Actually I think Apple has a long way to go to improve their marketshare in Asia, and they need more than just Apple Stores to do that.

First and foremost is the lack of content, more specifically iTunes content.
Here in Asia iTunes has no songs, ring tones, movies, or TV shows. So the amazingly rich multimedia experience that people get in the States isn't really here.

 

[fabulicious]

hahahaha

If this were Microsoft doing this, you know you'd be crying foul about them doing business in a Communist country and call them traitors.

 

[fabulicious]

Actually I think Apple has a long way to go to improve their marketshare in Asia, and they need more than just Apple Stores to do that.

First and foremost is the lack of content, more specifically iTunes content.
Here in Asia iTunes has no songs, ring tones, movies, or TV shows. So the amazingly rich multimedia experience that people get in the States isn't really here.

China doesn't get Twitter or Facebook (not by choice mind you) and Apple thinks they need a whole big wack of stores spread out the vast land to sell them a bunch of stuff they can't get maximum use out of? lol Only Apple. *shakes head in disbelief*

 

[Becordial]

"attendees were not permitted to bring communication devices into the meeting"

You can't be serious about this? Shareholder meetings are run by the normal private property rules, but not in a million years would a company here EVER dictate to shareholders not to bring in their phones. I'm sorry but that is unheard of, and I for one would bring in whatever I damn well choose to bring in. Apple, leave the command and control stuff to governments, who do it better than you.

 

[Michaelgtrusa]

Will each store have shelves of pirated software? Perhaps they will not be actual Apple stores, but Apple-store knockoffs.

True.

 

[Michaelgtrusa]

As the economist Peter Schiff has repeatedly stated, once China stops borrowing billions of dollars to us so that we can buy the products they make, and starts keeping it to themselves so their own citizens can actually buy their own products , we are hosed. But hey, they deserve to use the stuff they are actually making over there!

Hey mack, the money that they lone to us is in fact actually stolen from us through bad trade policies and cheating.

 

[Michaelgtrusa]

There's also the whole sentiment about "a rising tide lifts all boats" to consider here. The USA is already shooting itself in the proverbial feet by borrowing so much money. We're setting ourselves up for hyper-inflation and a massive economic crash. So THAT is where I see us being "hosed", really ... not directly because the Chinese would reach a stage where their average citizens are able to buy and use the products they produce for others.

In the *long* run, I think it might turn out to be a good thing for the USA if the rest of the world makes strides towards their people rising to the standard of living we've enjoyed, vs. the current situation which seems to be all about the typical U.S. citizen accepting a LOWERED standard of living, so the nation can be "more like the rest of the world".

Sad but true. Why should I lower myself for others, for communist.

 

[niuniu]

"attendees were not permitted to bring communication devices into the meeting"

You can't be serious about this? Shareholder meetings are run by the normal private property rules, but not in a million years would a company here EVER dictate to shareholders not to bring in their phones. I'm sorry but that is unheard of, and I for one would bring in whatever I damn well choose to bring in. Apple, leave the command and control stuff to governments, who do it better than you.

I don't buy that at all. These are obviously shareholders who have agreed to certain rules at certain meetings. Private property rules circumventing company law resolutions? Never heard of anything like it.

 

[Becordial]

I don't buy that at all. These are obviously shareholders who have agreed to certain rules at certain meetings. Private property rules circumventing company law resolutions? Never heard of anything like it.

I never said private property rules circumvent company law resolutions. They co-exist, but the latter is not even relevant here. Indeed Apple or anyone who runs a meeting or anything can exclude anything they like under the usual private property rules, just like a nightclub can enforce byzantine entry rules over their private property.

What's relevant here is that Apple have the audacity to ask this of ordinary shareholders. Apart from the usual respectful request to 'switch off or put to silent', it is unheard of here to dictate to shareholders that they cant bring a phone into a meeting.

 

[duck apple]

I hope they build an Apple Store in Taipei, but at the same time, I'd rather it not be one of the 25.

Me too.

 

[MorphingDragon]

Pfft, they have a giant store in the middle of Sydney. They can afford one in Hong Kong.

Why can't they build more in Australia and build at least one in New Zealand.

 

[GC Jr]

So that you can say I bought my overpriced PC in a "cool" looking store?

You just made a horrible assumption. Apple Stores are generally pretty, don't you think?
And anyway, doesn't the appearance of the store add to the experience of buying a Mac?...

 

[Chundles]

Why can't they build more in Australia and build at least one in New Zealand.

Lack of market. I'm surprised there are 6 in Australia (with a few more in the pipeline) as it is.

 

[Chupa Chupa]

"attendees were not permitted to bring communication devices into the meeting"

You can't be serious about this? Shareholder meetings are run by the normal private property rules, but not in a million years would a company here EVER dictate to shareholders not to bring in their phones. I'm sorry but that is unheard of, and I for one would bring in whatever I damn well choose to bring in. Apple, leave the command and control stuff to governments, who do it better than you.

Not sure where you live, or what government's laws you are referring to, but in the U.S. there is no such thing as "normal private property rules." There is Property Law, but that has zero to do with Shareholder Meetings, and varies from state to state. Shareholder Meetings falls under the umbrella of Corporate Governance and within the jurisdiction of Securities Act of 1933 and 1934.

A minority shareholder's rights are fairly slim. If the BoD says "no phones, cameras, laptops, cigars, back issues of Playboy, or Mad Dog 20/20," then those are the rules and a minority shareholder must abide by them. Sorry.

Also, it's quite common for recording devices, computers, phones, etc, to be banned from Shareholder Meetings. Ask Warren Buffett. Not sure why you think a company would never do that or why it's inappropriate. It's a private meeting.