Anger swells as Apple puts end to iPhone sales
By Zhu Shenshen |
January 14, 2012, Saturday
|
Print Edition
Print Edition
SEVERAL thousand angry people, some of whom stayed up all night in the cold, threw eggs at Apple Stores and were reluctant to leave after Apple Inc quickly sold out and canceled sales of its long-awaited iPhone 4S in Beijing and Shanghai stores yesterday.
Apple said the move, including the refusal to open a store in Beijing, was to ensure customer safety and advised people to buy the iPhone 4S online or in China Unicom's outlets.
The incident reflected Apple's popularity in China and the booming influence of scalpers, who bought iPhones in large volumes and sold them later at higher prices when they quickly sold out in the stores.
At least several hundred people gathered at each of the five Apple Store outlets in the Chinese mainland - two in Beijing and three in Shanghai - waiting all night for the iPhone 4S debut at 7am. But most ended up disappointed and became angry.
In Shanghai, only some "lucky" customers, who were allowed to buy two phones each, succeeded in purchasing. The sales ended within several hours when the phones sold out.
"Around 12:10pm, I saw hundreds of people gathering in front of an Apple Store on Nanjing Road E., shouting and reluctant to leave," Liu Puzhong, whose office is near the store, told Shanghai Daily.
"The police, the security guards and Apple Store's male employees gathered to organize a wall against the angry people, and seemed nervous," Liu added.
When he came back around 12:40pm, the crowd had dissipated and only some scalpers were left. Each had bought phones and were waiting for buyers. But buyers of the scalped phones were being asked to pay an additional 500 to 800 yuan (US$127), Shanghai Daily learned from Liu and other residents.
Some 500 older people from neighboring Jiangsu Province, likely hired by a big scalper, came to another local store on Huaihai Road M. about 8pm on Thursday, waiting overnight for the store to open. They arrived on several buses and said they were being paid 150 yuan each. Their photos were widely spread on Chinese social websites such as Weibo.com.
In Beijing's Sanlitun Apple Store, hundreds of customers, including migrant workers hired by scalpers who had waited overnight, erupted after the store failed to open at 7am.
Some threw eggs and shouted at employees through the windows, according to The Associated Press.
"The demand for iPhone 4S has been incredible, and our stores in China have already sold out," said Apple in an e-mail statement to Shanghai Daily yesterday. "Unfortunately, we were unable to open our store at Sanlitun due to the large crowd, and to ensure the safety of our customers and employees, iPhone will not be available in our retail stores in Beijing and Shanghai."
Customers can still order the new iPhone through the Apple Online Store, or buy at China Unicom and other authorized resellers, Apple added. However the phone, whether in 16 gigabyte, 32GB or 64GB, also quickly sold out in the Apple Online Store.
The iPhone 4S sold in Apple Store starts at 4,988 yuan. People have to pay at least 5,880 yuan from China Unicom with a three-year contract.
"I think both poor organization and Apple's special sales strategy resulted in this," said Wei Zhong, a mobile phone expert for an IT magazine. "Apple knows that - you can't get it, then you are more hungry for it."
China is one of Apple's most important markets and "an area of enormous opportunity," Apple's Chief Executive Tim Cook said recently.
People can still buy the iPhone 4S from overseas markets like Hong Kong and the United States, where Apple launched the new model as early as October.
Apple said the move, including the refusal to open a store in Beijing, was to ensure customer safety and advised people to buy the iPhone 4S online or in China Unicom's outlets.
The incident reflected Apple's popularity in China and the booming influence of scalpers, who bought iPhones in large volumes and sold them later at higher prices when they quickly sold out in the stores.
At least several hundred people gathered at each of the five Apple Store outlets in the Chinese mainland - two in Beijing and three in Shanghai - waiting all night for the iPhone 4S debut at 7am. But most ended up disappointed and became angry.
In Shanghai, only some "lucky" customers, who were allowed to buy two phones each, succeeded in purchasing. The sales ended within several hours when the phones sold out.
"Around 12:10pm, I saw hundreds of people gathering in front of an Apple Store on Nanjing Road E., shouting and reluctant to leave," Liu Puzhong, whose office is near the store, told Shanghai Daily.
"The police, the security guards and Apple Store's male employees gathered to organize a wall against the angry people, and seemed nervous," Liu added.
When he came back around 12:40pm, the crowd had dissipated and only some scalpers were left. Each had bought phones and were waiting for buyers. But buyers of the scalped phones were being asked to pay an additional 500 to 800 yuan (US$127), Shanghai Daily learned from Liu and other residents.
Some 500 older people from neighboring Jiangsu Province, likely hired by a big scalper, came to another local store on Huaihai Road M. about 8pm on Thursday, waiting overnight for the store to open. They arrived on several buses and said they were being paid 150 yuan each. Their photos were widely spread on Chinese social websites such as Weibo.com.
In Beijing's Sanlitun Apple Store, hundreds of customers, including migrant workers hired by scalpers who had waited overnight, erupted after the store failed to open at 7am.
Some threw eggs and shouted at employees through the windows, according to The Associated Press.
"The demand for iPhone 4S has been incredible, and our stores in China have already sold out," said Apple in an e-mail statement to Shanghai Daily yesterday. "Unfortunately, we were unable to open our store at Sanlitun due to the large crowd, and to ensure the safety of our customers and employees, iPhone will not be available in our retail stores in Beijing and Shanghai."
Customers can still order the new iPhone through the Apple Online Store, or buy at China Unicom and other authorized resellers, Apple added. However the phone, whether in 16 gigabyte, 32GB or 64GB, also quickly sold out in the Apple Online Store.
The iPhone 4S sold in Apple Store starts at 4,988 yuan. People have to pay at least 5,880 yuan from China Unicom with a three-year contract.
"I think both poor organization and Apple's special sales strategy resulted in this," said Wei Zhong, a mobile phone expert for an IT magazine. "Apple knows that - you can't get it, then you are more hungry for it."
China is one of Apple's most important markets and "an area of enormous opportunity," Apple's Chief Executive Tim Cook said recently.
People can still buy the iPhone 4S from overseas markets like Hong Kong and the United States, where Apple launched the new model as early as October.
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