But no one has benefited from China’s growing appetite for smartphones more than Apple. Even as the developed world was becoming saturated with iPhones, Apple kept expanding its sales with the help of China. The iPhone first became available in China in 2009, relatively early in its now gloried history, and has kept growing in line with the country’s expansion in disposable income and smartphone demand. This past quarter, Apple sold more iPhones in China than in the United States, belying prognostications that the Chinese market wouldn’t be receptive to such a premium, high-margin device.
With Europe being pretty much a lost cause for Apple, China really stepped in and offered the company more growth potential than Europe ever could.
Are you saying that Apple won’t be selling any more kit over here?
Care to elaborate Thom?
Remember that not all of Europe is in the Euro Zone.
If it is really a lost cause for Apple then what is it for the likes of Samsung etc?
I see more iPhones in use than any other make but that is not a statistically valid sample so it can be ignored.
Tried to find some figures. Apple share for iPhones in Europe seems between 15% and 25%.
Probably more in GB.
Far from a “lot cause”, obviously.
Update, figures from last year :
http://www.businessinsider.com/android-kills-apple-in-key-european-…
Edited 2015-05-01 09:17 UTC
Thom, I really hope you were being sarcastic.
Apple sold $12.2bn worth of stuff in Europe in their last quarter!
If Europe is a lost cause for Apple, then everyone else might as well pack up and go home.
Just to add to that, over 2 quarters, Apple has sold $30bn of stuff in Europe. There sales over 2 quarters in Europe alone would almost put them in the Forbes top 100. Over a whole year, they would be solidly in there at about position 50 – almost the same level of revenue as Cisco. In other words, on the basis of their Europe sales alone, Apple would have been an incredibly successful company.
But what do they know – Europe is a lost cause for them. They should shutter their Europe operations and do home.
Now normally I would say: what do you get if you count all the Android manufacturers together ?
But I think the biggest reason Apple is making so much money on this is because of their high margins. Not because of marketshare.
And marketshare is really important for growing your slice. In IT most of the time we seems to gravitate towards a single ‘standard’.
Edited 2015-05-01 10:53 UTC
I wasn’t looking at the profits here, just the revenue. It is quite clear (to me at least) that Europe is clearly not a lost cause for Apple. If $30bn sales over 2 quarters equals a lost cause, then God help us.
This article is specifically talking about growth. Apple’s growth in Europe is minute compared to China, and said growth is most likely only coming from the UK and Ireland, where Apple is as prevalent as in the US. On the mainland? Apple has been in a steady decline for a long time.
All growth in Europe is minute compared to China.
Maybe apple’s share of the smartphone market has declined, but that’s because android has been absorbing the whole remaining dumbphone market. It’s not because apple is selling less or making less profit. And apple still owns the market where people on average just have to much money like Switzerland and Luxembourg. You won’t see more macs anywhere on the world than in Switzerland. So “lost cause” isn’t quite right.
I think you missed the point slightly. He’s saying Apple’s growth is minute by comparison to other areas, not that Apple aren’t making steady profit. You can have a nice, steady, billions-of-dollars profit every quarter without actually accomplishing much growth.
I don’t think most are quibbling with the focus on growth, they’re quibbling with the “lost cause.” Of course, Euro growth can’t compare to China growth, nor should it — that should be true of virtually any company… but very few companies are able to crack the China market.
Most of your other data points are simply wrong. Germany does not mirror the US or British markets (Apple has approx 18% share in Germany and 43% in the US). Apple used to have around 28% share in the UK but saw a massive surge with the latest iPhone release to 40% — almost 12% growth. Apple has seen solid growth in the EU5, generally in the 3% range. Yes, smaller than China and to vastly smaller populations (and largely a spike due to a fresh release), but no where near lost cause. Heck, it’s even grown 3% in Spain which has been a horrible market for Apple because of their horrible economy. Yes, there are European markets where Apple has far less share and may be experiencing declines compared to its 22% share of the big Euro5, but there are also a number of European countries where its share is greater and growing.
Apple now has 40+% share in the US, UK, Australia, well above 50% share in Japan, and is currently the largest seller of smartphones in the largest country in the world. Suggesting that Apple will focus on China to the exclusion of other markets because of decline, stagnation, or anything approaching a “lost cause” is utter nonsense. Growth, particularly in established markets, is typically slow and difficult — but the Mac was in a far worse position and it’s had steady, slow, hard fought for, but consistent, unabated growth for a decade. Nothing is a lost cause when you are in Apple’s position.
http://techcrunch.com/2015/03/04/apple-grabbed-record-25-share-of-s…
Edited 2015-05-01 23:05 UTC
Additionally, I would note that Apple’s European revenue grew 12% YoY in the latest quarter. Nothing to sneeze at, never mind “lost cause.”
Edited 2015-05-01 23:29 UTC
Another data point: Apple saw 80% iPhone growth in Germany and Turkey (admittedly, Turkey straddles two continents) in the recently closed quarter. Yes, it’s from a small base but still not a lost cause.
The iPhone gained both market share and usage share in Europe overall.
If you define ‘Europe’ as a select group of countries you can certainly make the argument your making but, honestly, by that logic you could make any argument you want by selectively picking and choosing geography.
Anyway, a more interesting debate is why Apple is not doing well in those select markets, in comparison to other markers. I’d be interested to hear your opinion on that.
Except the data doesn’t support that statement. http://www.kantarworldpanel.com/global/smartphone-os-market-share/i…
What decline when they have just sold more than they ever have in Europe?
How does positive growth equal decline?
Many chinese are obsessed with appearing to have status. What makes a bigger fashion statement than having super expensive Apple products? It’s amazing what percentage of income a lot of chinese will blow to gain perceived status. And people call western societies shallow. I know it’s not true of everyone in china but a bigger percent of the young working population is that way.
While mostly everyone in rich western societies could buy an iPhone if they cared to do so, most people in China still can’t. Thats why buying an iPhone will give you the same social status you could only gain in say Germany by buying a Rolex or a BMW, which again most of your compatriots won’t be be able to afford.
For many Chinese this is the first generation in the family that has been able to afford expensive crap like this. It’s new money. The next generation won’t be so gaudy.
The Chinese are really being taken for a ride here. The phones are made in their own country for the lowest possible price by those at the very bottom of the food chain. Then they are marked up 100% and sold as a luxury product to the richest people in that country.
A lot of the buyers probably benefit from government corruption and exploitation of the poor so it’s easy money for them and they don’t care about wasting it. Pretty sad state of affairs for those at the bottom of the pyramid.
This is the flip side that the west will never highlight because it benefits their companies.
Edited 2015-05-01 18:48 UTC
Taken for a ride? How exactly do you imagine that? You think they don’t know where the phones are made? You think they don’t have a million phone options made by Chinese companies that they could buy instead?
Fact is they buy iPhones for the same reason they buy a lot of German cars. theyre high quality, exotic, and a status symbol