Jobs’s Death Boosts Sales of Apple Products
Investors and consumers reacted differently to the Wednesday death of Apple co-founder Steve Jobs. While investors in stock markets let go of the Apple shares after the news of his demise. Consumers, on the other, hand snapped up more of the Apple gadgets.
The purchase of iPods, iPhones, iMacs and iPads is seen as a consumer tribute to Mr Jobs, who many people compared to Benjamin Franklin and Thomas Edison for his creative genius that helped made life easier for millions of people.
Experts said it is not a new phenomenon that a celebrity death spawns phenomenal sales boost, citing the case of pop icon Michael Jackson whose album and song sales boomed after his controversial death in 2009.
"These products have significant emotional value, they have sentimental value, they're connected if you will, to the bloodstream of the person who's likely to be the purchaser," University of Detroit Mercy marketing professor Michael Bernacchi told AP.
Consumers who came in droves to Apple stores to offer flowers and notes also went through the merchandise and made purchases.
As a whole, market reaction to Jobs's death could be described as quite muted. In New York, Apple shares initially rose 0.9 per cent in early trading, but eventually closed down 0.2 per cent to $377.37. However, in Germany, Apple stock initially dipped 5.3 per cent but eventually settled to $365.04 on morning electronic trading at Frankfurt.
The mild reaction contrasts with the dramatic drops in Apple stock value on news of Mr Job's health problems and appearance.
Analysts view the sedate reaction as a vote of confidence on Apple Chief Executive Officer Tim Cook and his management team left to carry out Mr Job's vision for one of the most valuable enterprises in the world. Besides leaving Apple with $76 billion cash, Mr Jobs departed from the company and the world with Apple on top of the technology world with its innovative products that competitors copied.
"We believe the company has transformed itself into one of the key platforms of the future with iCloud and the App Store poised to benefit in the upcoming decade from a company that produced hot products," Sterne Agee analyst Shaw Wu told The Australian.
"The challenge and opportunity for (Apple) is to maintain this culture.... The good news is that Steve has put a strong team in place," Mr Wu added.
Expected to benefit from the strong consumer demand for Apple products boosted further by the co-founder's death is the iPhone 4S which was launched a day before Mr Jobs lost the battle to pancreatic cancer. The iPhone 4S is scheduled to go on sale Oct 14 and this early analysts are anticipating queues longer than the usual long lines outside Apple stores in the U.S.
