A
crowd outside of an Apple store in Beijing reacts in anger to
news
that sales of the new Apple 4S phone had been canceled,
after
people had stood for hours in freezing temperatures.
Global Times, People's
Republic of China
Shiny Metal 'God' Too Much for China's Apple 'Cultists'
Should
Beijing be alarmed that China has some of the most rabid Apple fans on earth?
For China's state-run Global Times, columnist Xin Haiguang writes that
for lack of Chinese 'idols', some people of Mainland China have adopted a
foreign one: Apple.
By Xin Haiguang*
January 16, 2012
People's Republic of China - Global Times - Original
Article (English)
The Chinese launch of the
iPhone 4S was suspended Friday after fighting broke out outside of a Beijing Apple
store. The angry crowd that had braved freezing temperatures for hours came
close to rioting, throwing eggs at the store and trying to break its windows.
A significant number of those
lining up at the Sanlitun store were migrant workers or students hired by
scalpers. With some wearing red ribbons or yellow caps to identify themselves, special
buying teams were well-organized in a dramatic bid to snatch as many new
iPhones as possible on the first day of sales on China's mainland. Scalpers expected
to make up to $79 [500 yuan] profit by reselling the highly coveted gadgets.
But a suspension of sales
ruined business for the scalpers. They still had to pay students and workers
they hired to line up for their time, and more disputes ensued when their compensation
was significantly reduced.
The drama drew Western media attention,
with The New York Times and Washington Post quickly covering the
incident online.
The launch of all new Apple
products draws crowds of fans around the world. But most of them don't riot
like a group of drunken football fans after the home team has lost.
Some said the frenzy among
Chinese Apple followers is a result of a deliberate strategy of the company to "hunger
market" products by limiting the supply to China. It sounds reasonable. But
as a multinational corporation with a business that reaches every corner of the
globe, Apple easily applies "hunger marketing" everywhere. But why is
the strategy so successful in China? Is it simply because of the sheer size of China's
population, or the swelling pocketbooks of Chinese citizens?
The presence of a great army
of scalpers demonstrates that profit potential of the Apple market is huge. And
to get their hands on a shiny new device, Chinese consumers seem willing to
fork over larger amounts of money than Apple fans elsewhere.
Apple fans wherever they live
may be equally gullible in their pursuit of the latest toy. But aside from the
pursuit of the latest electronic fashion, Apple worship in China has a number
of local characteristics. Loving Apple makes fits right in with Chinese
enthusiasm for foreign-made luxury goods.
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No one needs a $800 handset -
but for many Chinese, the pride of owning luxury is more important than the
functionality of the object in question. That is why they'll blow two months of
pay on a single gadget. They may not be able to drive the same Mercedes as the wealthy,
but they can carry the same LV bag.
Posted
by WORLDMEETS.US
When the iPhone4S was
launched in the U.S., Canada and especially the Hong Kong Special
Administrative Region, mainlanders mobilized all their resources and
connections to get their hands on one. As demonstrated by the lines of Chinese
tourists in London or New York this holiday season, who bypassed famous
attractions to hit Harrods or Macy's, Chinese consumers seem to have a
particular penchant for overpriced foreign brands.
In every society, every
country and every generation, there will be people who go crazy over certain
fashions. It's not at all surprising for China to have one of the world's largest
group of Apple cultists. The worship of Apple is no less reasonable than the
worship of actual religious idols. Perhaps the situation simply reflects a lack
of Chinese idols: without other idols to worship, Chinese fans put their
collective faith in Apple.
*Xin Haiguang an IT
industry commentator based in Beijing.
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