Apple's mindshare in Asia far outweighs marketshare
Apple took top honors in The Wall Street Journal's Asia 200 survey this year, despite reportedly having just 1.6 percent of the personal computer share in the region, and only 0.6 percent of the total mobile phone market. The company's perceived success among consumers is attributed to superior marketing and branding of themselves.
When broken down by attribute, Apple consistently appeared among the top five companies ranked by consumers in Asia. For long-term vision, the Mac maker was second, fifth for quality, fourth for corporate reputation, and second for innovation.
While Apple's presence in the region is minor — particularly in the smartphone market, where it has made great inroads in the western world — Apple is working to change that. Last month, the handset maker struck a three-year deal to sell the iPhone on carrier China Unicom. That non-exclusive agreement has left the door open for a separate agreement with the world's largest wireless carrier, China Mobile.
And while the iPhone had struggled at first in Japan, the handset has continued to grow in popularity over the years. This summer, it became the nation's top-selling smartphone.
Still, the Journal noted, struggles remain for Apple to penetrate the market.
"While the company's iconic iPod is popular in Asia, Apple's iTunes store remains out of reach of most Asian consumers," the report said. "Apple has set up iTunes in Japan and Australia only. Copyright is the big hurdle. Apple has to conclude deals with individual record labels at the country level to allow songs to be sold on the iTunes platform in each market. That labyrinth process has mired efforts to make the service more widely available in Asia. The company is also likely concerned about piracy in Asia, say many analysts."
Apple's strength in a global recession has earned the company respect internationally. Last quarter, the company's profits rose 15 percent on sales of 2.6 million Macs and 5.2 million iPhones. It was a record non-holiday quarter for the company, with $8.34 billion in sales for the three-month period that ended June 27.
33 Comments
piracy in Asia is not different from piracy in US.
The issues is not priacy but actually resolving deals with record companies, which not just the TOP 5 in world globally but the local BIG companies. Apple were able to do a deal in India with concern to the Bollywood movies, there would make a lot of in-roads into selling iPods/Inanos.
Bollywood makes more money per year than Hollywood easily.
IP have been resolved in India from 2005, since the Life Sciences is a booming industry, so I see no reason to worry about IP/Piracy, since piracy is the same were ever you go and India has some tough laws, if you get caught.
Hope Apple can crack the Indian market, since it one of the fastest growing consumer markets in the world, let alone, its economy.
piracy in Asia is not different from piracy in US.
The issues is not priacy but actually resolving deals with record companies, which not just the TOP 5 in world globally but the local BIG companies. Apple were able to do a deal in India with concern to the Bollywood movies, there would make a lot of in-roads into selling iPods/Inanos.
Bollywood makes more money per year than Hollywood easily.
IP have been resolved in India from 2005, since the Life Sciences is a booming industry, so I see no reason to worry about IP/Piracy, since piracy is the same were ever you go and India has some tough laws, if you get caught.
Hope Apple can crack the Indian market, since it one of the fastest growing consumer markets in the world, let alone, its economy.
I agree. If Apple could put stuff from Bollywood on iTunes store, this would be great, for both costumers and Apple. Though at times I wonder whether Apple has got the good mix of desire and skills to penetrate the Indian market.
Ah, this is just setting up for the next twenty years of cash flow growth, my friends. The first stage of ultimately any sale is 'awareness.'
I am holding.
Okay MS seen as having Long Term Plans, that is a joke, especial coming form the Asian community where they look at long term plans in terms of 5, 10, 25 and 50 years. Most Asian companies have very long term strategies verse their non Asian counter parts which change their strategies at a drop of the hat including MS, MS enter and exits strategies all the time they do not state the course.
Prime example is Toyota and Sony it took them 25 to 30 years to accomplish what they set out to do.
I can also tell you that apple/Steve is still executing against the long term plan they put together in 1984, which said they technologies will converge over time and that people will have technologies at their finger tips and easy access to information. Apple lose its way in the 90's but Steve has it back on track. Steve and Apple have a fundamental guiding principle which MS does not have and Steve is very much Asian in this way.
piracy in Asia is not different from piracy in US.
Actually it very different, at least in the US people do recognize IP and copyrights and that a person or company owns it and has rights to profit form it. In many Asian countries this is not a concept they get or really understand. They see everything is for the common good and just because it is your ideals, thoughts or creation does not precludes them from copying and making money off it.
In China they do not see a problem with taking music or videos and copying them and selling the, it is just the way things are done.