China follows US as biggest Apple market
19 Oct 2011
Apple says China has become its largest market after the US, that led the maker of the iconic iPhone, iPad and iMac products to launch an online store last year and six retail outlets in the past three years in the Asian nation.
China, which has the largest population among nations, contributed 16 per cent of Apple's fourth-quarter sales, or about $4.5 billion, chief executive officer Tim Cook said on a conference call yesterday. He added revenue in the nation was almost four times the year- earlier level.
Demand in China was the high point of the earnings Apple reported yesterday. The results were lower than what analysts had estimated for the first time in at least six years with iPhone sales lagging behind targets. The Cupertino, California-based company's sales in the Asian country surged to $13 billion in the year ended 24 September as against the $3 billion in the previous 12 months according to Cook.
Cook said, he had never seen another country having the kind of demand for products, from people rising into the middle class. He added the sky was the limit in China.
Apple operates a network of over 200 ''Apple Premium Resellers'' that are focused on pushing the company's products, Cook said. He added there were 7,000 points of sale for the iPhone in China, he said.
But according to analysts, Apple was not expanding fast enough in China.
