Unauthorized Selling Frenzy Hits Apple in China
A number of unofficial Apple resellers have sprung up in China, and the tech giant has no immediate power over them.
Everyone wants a bite on Apple's business. There is no denying that iPods, iPads, and iPhones are some of the most popular items in China. Resellers of Apple products are everywhere.
Most of the resellers in China are unauthorized, but the U.S. company finds it quite difficult to suppress the unofficial vendors. Apple stores currently face expansion and challenge. This problem in China is nothing new as Apple does not have immediate or direct contact to distributors to manage unofficial retailers.
Apple is again a hot item as the recently launched iPhone 4S will hit the market on Oct. 14.
Apple's sales in China received a boost up to $3.8 billion in the last fiscal quarter. These figures amounted to the 13.3 percent of the company's global revenue. Apple's chief executive Tim Cook said China provided a "key" share of profits.
The company is now implementing rigorous control over distribution of its products. The company even hired third parties to monitor selling Apple products.
Small resellers in the high-tech area in Beijing obtained Apple's approval to sell their products. But scalpers take advantage of the booming business, especially when iPhone and iPad became a fad.
Of the 1.07 million iPads sold in China 49 percent were from unauthorized vendors. These vendors sell real iPhones and iPads and smuggle them to avoid tariffs and other taxes. China is also the home of a rich black market wherein fake Apple products are being sold.
According to Analysis International, the Apple Store in China, which opened in 2008, became one of the company's biggest revenue contributors.