Sidebar Sidebar
Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.

Apple's Largest Retail Store Yet Coming to Dalian, China?

Apple just keeps pushing the boundaries... But I agree that they should expand to china, probably could become their biggest market
 
i'm a bit confused by the placement of the walls in the fact that there was a starbucks on the inside of the barricade?

These people were filming this all happen from within the barricade, so how did people get in there in the first place
 
Apparently everyone is fooled.

The retails in China are fond of calling their own small business the 'officail apple store'. No government in the world would allow a random guy setting up his store right on the street of a shopping square and brand it as neat as he wants.
 
tougher?

maflynn said:
I make no assumptions but it seems the security guards for the other shops won out, either because they were right, or their security guards were tougher then the ones hired by apple.
Click to expand...

:p no offence but do you mean the "barbaric" *ehem* "tougher" side has the right?
 
World Citizen said:
I dont realy understand why this wall was standing there... It was obviously in front of a store, and before starbucks. It looks like Apple is building around starbucks.. ? The front facing side of the wall was turned away from us. And people where sitting at starbucks.. .So obviously the wall was not keeping people out...

Weird.
Click to expand...

of all the notes - I was looking for this one and it hasn't gotten any attention or explanation... that the hell was the wall for? there were open businesses in front of, AND behind the wall, so was it just a big advertising curtain?

The wall wasn't enclosing a construction area like you'd expect...

weird indeed.
 
This is happening for obvious reasons: the real Apple Stores will cut out sales from the fake ones.
 
I think there is more to this than we are being told;

  1. Why would Apple open their Worlds Biggest China flagship store in the small city of Dalian
  2. Why would they have fenced off a StarBucks?
  3. If they are really doing construction their, then why only use those small boards?
 
prvt.donut said:
Why would Apple open their Worlds Biggest China flagship store in the small city of Dalian
Click to expand...

It's a major regional city and is growing like crazy as a major transport hub for North East China. Liaoning has a population of around 44 million people, a very large proportion of whom are middle-class and can afford Apple products. It's not small-fry. If they could get a big space cheaply to build a nice, big Apple Store, then why not do it?

Why would they have fenced off a StarBucks?
If they are really doing construction their, then why only use those small boards?
Click to expand...

Apple aren't a construction company. They hire local contractors to do their work. Unfortunately, in China, construction contractors are really a law unto themselves in many cases, and don't really follow rules or even bother to get proper approvals. It looks like they went a bit overboard here, fencing off a whole area of the shopping centre. The police and security got annoyed, and ripped down the fence.
 
Did anyone else notice after the wall was torn down, the security human barricade?
 
prvt.donut said:
I think there is more to this than we are being told;

  1. Why would Apple open their Worlds Biggest China flagship store in the small city of Dalian
  2. Why would they have fenced off a StarBucks?
  3. If they are really doing construction their, then why only use those small boards?
Click to expand...

Having lived in China for some years now, I am thinking the following:

The buildings on each side of the street have different owners. The wall's primary function is to prevent customers from going to the other mall, and it most likely was erected on the part of the street that belongs to the Starbucks-side mall, where incidentally the Apple Store will be located.
So the other mall owner is pissed off and sends off thugs to put down the wall. Everybody on that video is a hired thug, but obviously the pissed-off mall owner has cherrypicked pretty violent types who do not think twice about putting down the wall and brandishing threatening fingers.

As to why they chose Dalian, I think it makes a lot of sense: Apple product penetration in North East China is most probably not as good a Beijing or Shanghai or obviously HK. If you live in Dalian, you can order online to get the products, but unless you come to Beijing, you will miss out on the entire Apple Store experience (where Apple really hooks you up in owning not only one, but the entire line of products). And come on, it's not like all the Apple Store in the US are located in prime posh cities. There is a fair number of Apple Stores in dirt holes in the US. Dalian is a vibrant, developing city where Apple can make a lot of cash and really improve product penetration. Seems pretty obvious to me.
 
There are reasons why Apple built the biggest outlet in China and not at the other part of the World, and certainly not U.S. But they do have a good one in England though.

----------
roanmartigan said:
Having lived in China for some years now, I am thinking the following:

The buildings on each side of the street have different owners. The wall's primary function is to prevent customers from going to the other mall, and it most likely was erected on the part of the street that belongs to the Starbucks-side mall, where incidentally the Apple Store will be located.
So the other mall owner is pissed off and sends off thugs to put down the wall. Everybody on that video is a hired thug, but obviously the pissed-off mall owner has cherrypicked pretty violent types who do not think twice about putting down the wall and brandishing threatening fingers.

As to why they chose Dalian, I think it makes a lot of sense: Apple product penetration in North East China is most probably not as good a Beijing or Shanghai or obviously HK. If you live in Dalian, you can order online to get the products, but unless you come to Beijing, you will miss out on the entire Apple Store experience (where Apple really hooks you up in owning not only one, but the entire line of products). And come on, it's not like all the Apple Store in the US are located in prime posh cities. There is a fair number of Apple Stores in dirt holes in the US. Dalian is a vibrant, developing city where Apple can make a lot of cash and really improve product penetration. Seems pretty obvious to me.
Click to expand...

Insightful.
 
The "go big or go home" comment pretty much hit the nail on the head. Apple is a higher end brand in China than in the U.S. and it makes more sense to build a gigantic store serving a city where the buyer experience can be carefully managed rather than building many smaller stores. Anyway the barricades don't seem to do much other than being an advertisement for Apple.
 
are you serious? world's biggest apple store in my hometown!:D

this is the Parkland shopping centre:

DSC00908.jpg
 
ick

I don't like when people behave like this. NOT very civilized:mad:. If I was Apple and it was up to me, I would say, "Fine, we're taking our toys and going home". :p
 
roanmartigan said:
Having lived in China for some years now, I am thinking the following:

The buildings on each side of the street have different owners. The wall's primary function is to prevent customers from going to the other mall, and it most likely was erected on the part of the street that belongs to the Starbucks-side mall, where incidentally the Apple Store will be located.
So the other mall owner is pissed off and sends off thugs to put down the wall. Everybody on that video is a hired thug, but obviously the pissed-off mall owner has cherrypicked pretty violent types who do not think twice about putting down the wall and brandishing threatening fingers.

As to why they chose Dalian, I think it makes a lot of sense: Apple product penetration in North East China is most probably not as good a Beijing or Shanghai or obviously HK. If you live in Dalian, you can order online to get the products, but unless you come to Beijing, you will miss out on the entire Apple Store experience (where Apple really hooks you up in owning not only one, but the entire line of products). And come on, it's not like all the Apple Store in the US are located in prime posh cities. There is a fair number of Apple Stores in dirt holes in the US. Dalian is a vibrant, developing city where Apple can make a lot of cash and really improve product penetration. Seems pretty obvious to me.
Click to expand...

Yeah, but even in our "dirt holes" this kind of uncivilized behavior would never happen. We are a litigious nation and you simply can not hire thugs to start tearing down storefronts to have your way. This is simply unacceptable.
 
charlieegan3 said:
in China you go big or go home.
Click to expand...

You have to, look at the size of the population, with many now moving into the cities to find work, leaving the older family members behind. China is the next big market, and Apple are only doing what most companies are....If you don't have a market identity, you are not going to cash in when the people have the spending power to buy your products.
 
I don't know why these other businesses complain. An Apple store will only increase traffic and therefore visitors to their businesses.
 
Consultant said:
Few possibilities:
- It was legit but competitors don't like it
- The contractor put it in the wrong place
- Apple got exception to put it there
Click to expand...


who is entitled to remove a building or spot-banners ? Private Guards or demolish-removal company ?

Cook was having fun with the China-Heads the other day
i doubt they changed their minds

China has 2 powers: the government, the official channel, the legal one;
and the other one producing billions of revenue in fake products, the illegal one, the unofficial one (and in my opinion well-seen by the government since it produces return anyways)

that by the private guards was just an hostile act by the 'illegal owners = mafia', i doubt Apple doesnt know international rules-business or didnt follow chinese laws (and got and paid authorizations)

i expect now an act by the government but i wouldnt be suprised by future disorders in some chinese ORIGINAL apple store.

----------
hissyfit said:
I don't like when people behave like this. NOT very civilized:mad:. If I was Apple and it was up to me, I would say, "Fine, we're taking our toys and going home". :p
Click to expand...

China is a giant business not to take the chance to squeeze it :) Cook knows it
thats why he was doing carnival there with China heads and giving away 10k prices
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Register on MacRumors! This sidebar will go away, and you'll see fewer ads.
Top Bottom
Back