Apple Raises Mac Prices in Australia, Brazil, New Zealand, Norway, Malaysia, Mexico, Thailand and Turkey

[Plutonius]

Not true (I work for a global US company in EU):
- You can hedge against currency fluctuations, and
- You can simply suck up the losses due to currency fluctuations (it's called "currency headwinds" during earning calls).

BTW: I'm pretty sure that Apple, like other US multinationals, is keeping a lot of its cash in local currencies OUS anyway in order not to pay the high US corporate tax rates on profits...

I know this is a problem from experience. My company is having extreme difficulties with the high US dollar and international sales. In order to keep parity with domestic prices, we are forced to charge considerably more for our international sales and it's costing us sales. You are correct when you said that a company can increase international sales by selling for less but overall profit is much lower.

 

[Bregalad]

It makes perfect sense to adjust prices so they're more or less equal (plus local fees, extra shipping, etc.) across the world.

What's strange is that while Apple prices rise when the Canadian dollar makes a long term dip against the US dollar, most other electronics do not follow the same trend or do so to a much smaller extent. For example LED TVs rose about 10% when there was a sharp drop in the Canadian dollar. But most computer components rose very slightly if at all. Storage, as usual, has continued to drop in price despite a 25% drop in the value of our currency.

My theory is that most electronics are imported directly from Asia and so it's the strength or weakness of the Canadian dollar versus the Chinese, Taiwanese, Korean, etc. currencies that matters.

Have those of you in other countries noticed a similar divergence between Apple prices and those of other manufacturers?

 

[MacLC]

The whining here is agonizing.
1st point, The Chinese Yuan is pegged to the dollar so there is no direct benefit for Apple there, plus with wage issues, cost pressures for Foxconn eventually catch up to Apple

Living abroad half my life I ALWAYS see price changes for new models based on the current exchange rate. From 2007 to 2011 Macs got cheaper in Japan every year.
Apple has to adjust prices. Why?
2nd point, because if a currency in say Brazil drops by 50% and Apple does not change the prices for Apple products in that country, then somebody could (and some do) purchase 10 $1200 MacBooks for the equivalent of $600 and ship them to the US for $800. That messes everything up especially when those involved are tied to criminal organizations and Apple gets pressured by the government to stop it.

If you think this is bad, just hope rising interest rates in the US next year don't make exchange rates worse.

 

[Bodie CI5]

The whining here is agonizing.

Nope. At least for Australia (can't speak for other countries), this is the SECOND price hike in about 6-7 months. All indications for over 12months here, have been pointing to a weakening Australian dollar, so Apple's known that prices would have to increase. And they did so, already once, this year. This second price hike reeks of opportunism.

I won't hold my breath for two price decreases should Australia's dollar strengthen against the greenback in the next 6-7 months...

 

[sir1963nz]

Wait till the 27th. Tim is not offering AAPL options to all employees 3 weeks prior to Q4 results because it's going up in value.

Try some Risk Anylisis.

No he is offering the restricted shares as a means of stopping skilled staff from leaving. THAT is why the shares are restricted.

 

[sir1963nz]

(double posting...)

One last point: I don't think that MAC sales (especially laptop sales) are that prone to parallel imports and black markets (especially compared to iDevices), because:
- People tend to be very attached to their local keyboard,
- There might be an issue with the wall charger/voltage

Laptops have international power supplies, i.e. 85V-265V because people may travel internationally with them.
Desktops may be a different story. My only experience is with a Mac mini I bought in from the USA which had a 110v only power brick.

 

[Glideslope]

No he is offering the restricted shares as a means of stopping skilled staff from leaving. THAT is why the shares are restricted.

Yes. Because that is precisely what some will want to do after Q4 on 10-27-15. Tim is offering Bones with no Marrow.

 

[paulbrian101]

This price hike made me feel that my recently bought MBA for NZD 1500 with Apple Care was a steal.

 

[pat500000]

It's not their fault, if they don't increase the prices, then their products may become unprofitable.

Okay...so if you need an mac...i'm sure you'll pay 5000 USD for iMac base model.

 

[Phoenixx]

Agreed. There is an important precedent under the CGA in computers (specifically a Toshiba) which was covered after four and a half years as it was judged to have had a life expectancy of five years as it wasn't a "cheap" computer. There is no doubt that the CGA covers at least as much as the warranty a manufacturer will offer (three years in the case of Apple), but there is also little doubt that an Apple laptop should be considered at least as "premium" as a Toshiba and probably should be expected to last five years at the very least, possibly more.

The problem is usually that the first port of call is the retailer, and the big box retailers are trained to blank you as most people will eventually give up. As long as you go in hard and insist on speaking to the manager and not leaving until you do (and recording what you are saying), they will tag you as "to be covered" and you'll be ok.

After working in retail in New Zealand for many years, it isn't that the sales staff are deliberately trying to prevent you from exercising your rights under the Consumer Guarantees Act (CGA), it's simply that they have NO IDEA what those rights are. In New Zealand almost all retail shops do not train their sales staff, or management in the CGA at all. Most of the time customers are better informed. This is exactly why these same staff can then be asked to sell "extended" warrantees, which cover the customer for very little that the CGA doesn't cover them for anyway. In essence these warrantees are often a form of FRAUD.