iPads, iPhones and iMacs for China's fashionable yuppies
Tuesday, 26 July 2011, 20:33 IST
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BEIJING: So strong is the appeal of theApple brand in China, some Chinese are willing to sell a kidney to pay for its gadgets. Apple Inc'siPads,iPhones andiMacs have been a smash hit in China, especially with the affluent, and upwardly mobile, middle classes and fashion-conscious urban youth who are snapping up the slinky, easy-to-use goods with gusto. The apparently insatiable appetite for Apple goods in the world's second largest economy is good news for the Cupertino, California-based firm, which reported forecast-smashing results this week, helped by massive growth in Asia, andChina in particular. It's also created a sizable market for knock-offs in the world's prime manufacturer of imitation goods, where pirates set up a fake Apple Store in the southwestern city of Kunming that is so good that even the employees believe it's the real deal. "Apple is a very well-known brand in China, and that's reason enough for some people to buy," said Xu Ziqing, a 23-year-old Beijing hotel receptionist. "Chinese people these days care very much about brands. They might not know whether the product is truly good or bad, but if it's a good brand, they will want it." Desperation to get hold of Apple computers can lead to extreme behaviour. Last month, state media reported that a teenager from the poor inland province of Hunan had sold one of his kidneys to be able to afford an iPad 2. The tablet computer is also becoming the must-have accessory on Beijing's notoriously crowded, stifling subway, a transport network used mainly by middle-income white collar workers and eschewed by the wealthy. Apple executives have said they have just scratched the surface in China, and the company is in the process of opening more stores there.
Source: PTI
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