The 2008 Olympic Summer Games in Beijing (China) have taken years of preparation, including the planning and construction of an Apple store to open before the August 8th opening ceremonies. Now the location of the store has been revealed: Qianmen Street, an historic half-mile long avenue at the south end of Tiananmen Square that is undergoing an extensive $40 million renovation. Construction is underway to improve the utilities, repave the street with green and white marble, restore building façades to their 1920-1930 appearance, re-introduce a tram and rebuild the existing Opera House. When the street re-opens in May, it will be the second pedestrian-only shopping street in the city, and will feature 300 shops filling over 800,000 square-feet, including several international retailers such as Starbucks and Addidas. According to architecture sources, Apple’s store will blend in with the Chinese architecture rather than use its standard storefront designs.
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If there’s a place for Apple to be right now, it’s out here in the rest of the world! Good move. Let’s hope to see as many Apple stores in China and India and Europe as there are in the US in a few years.
The scale of these markets is incredible, and Apple need to waste no time reaching for the top.
Apple should open a store in the Princeton, New Jersey area. Specifically in the Market Fair Mall. This is a very teach savvy area with I’m sure lots of Apple fans.
Do you know how many people there are in China?
Right! Almost all of them!
Buy! Buy! Buy!
I’ve used Apple products for over 15 years and own Apple stock. I believe Apple will continue to grow but it faces significant challenges overseas:
1) In many developing countries (I’ve spent 20 years in them) there are punitive taxes against imported technology – the countries want to develop their own tech sector. Locally ‘made’ or assembled PC’s (although containing imported parts and software i.e Windows) are given tax breaks while Macs are heavily taxed– together with shipping and fat cuts to local distributors Macs can cost 2 to 3 times a locally ‘made’ PC.
2) Apple need to fill in the gaps of it’s product line to thrive in third world markets. Imacs are expensive by 3rd world standards and even the mac mini is more tuned to N. America than the developing world (it’s got wireless airport and bluetooth but no ‘free’ monitor, printer, keyboard like clone PCs — for low income first time computer buyers this is a big issue – monitor more important than bluetooth! In some developing countries Microsoft has substantially reduced it’s software prices (‘local’ editions) but Apple stuff is usually much much more expensive overseas than in the U.S.
3) Americans grew up with Apple and the legend of Steve Jobs but overseas this doesn’t mean as much thus they are less willing to pay premium for Apple products.
Apple has potential but it needs it to work on some issues. Maybe the new Asian American director Andrea Jung who has China experience will be able to put some positive input.
I totally agree with Dave. Apple earns plenty of attraction in the rich parts of the world (which makes me old believer in Apple very happy), but that’s doesn’t yet address the needs of the huge folks in the less developed countries, where they need to check every single cent before spending. This is where cool gadgets do not count for them in this decade (maybe in 10 to 20 years though).
As Apple doesn’t have an answer for those, yet, there’s hope for some solutions in the near future.
[...] Olympics and worried about getting no support on your mac and iPod while in China? Good news, Apple has a retail store within walking distance from Tiananmen Square, a happy place that Chinese people gather and take photos of themselves smiling instead of that [...]