One must differentiate between "store" and "stall". The "store" in 三里屯 never fails to bedazzle me (200+ customers at all times during opening hours, and scores of people sleeping outside prior to new releases).

Except Apple could make tons of money in China. Google played that game and look what they lost, lots (though recent performance indicates otherwise).

From your lips to Terry Gou's ears, sort of. :D
Link

Thought I'd post this in the "furniture thread" but might fit in better here.

Ladies and gentlemen, let me introduce 11 Furniture, the original Chinese furniture chain so strangely resembling some Swedish stores. ;)

http://www.impactlab.net/2011/08/01/...ke-ikea-store/

When they are losing money because of the increased labor cost,
especially when employees were jumping to their death to collect
the windfall payment....that caused increases in the already high pay across
the board, they have to find a solution inorder to make a profit.

Robot, Brazil, Vietnam...wherever. Since the product is labeled designed in California and assembled in China... and they are looking for a big sales push in China, it would be worth moving the assembly out of China as then the
product is full foreign. At least the Chinese customer doesn't see China written on the box. Value Added!

21st Century Opium Wars
 

This is absolutely ridiculous.

Smuggling Apple products from HK back into ShenZhen, where they were assembled by some kind of wire/pully mechanism. Are the Chinese strung out on Apple?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cR4kjyfpZos

Not on Apple, just the quick buck that they can make off of it. Apple just happens to be the product in demand, and you can get it much cheaper from outside China. HK being so close is, obviously, the prime location to smuggle them in.

Right, but it's quite ironic that much of the "contraband" that's being smuggled into Shenzhen was made in Shenzhen:

http://www.wired.com/magazine/2011/0...linchina/all/1

I guess they will put the smugglers in chains and parade them around then shoot them in the head, like they did the opium addicts.

It is truly ironic how you can get the same product for a lower price after shipping it halfway across the world! Too bad they can't put region codes on iPads, huh? :rolleyes:

Internet sarcasm is sometimes hard to detect... not sure if this is an actual response yet.

There's a lot more contraband that crosses the border into China thru
ShenZhen than Apple products.

In the case of Apple products, they are not made in China.

They are "Designed by Apple in California. Assembled in China"

I guess that means 25,000 US employees are involved in design
and a million Chinese assemble the parts.

Thats a perfect business model to make them the world's most valuable company
by stock value!


http://www.flickr.com/photos/livepine/499048111/

I P.. 5
 

had several street vendors offer the fake I phone 5 to me this weekend in Haidian. ( they are made in GZ). seems to be an over-supply...

How much, I would have been tempted if it was cheap just for kicks.

I P.. 5
 

300 rmb on the street, but waiting for the Zhejiang truckload price !

When the Gou brothers open up 700 stores (Cybermart and AStudio) in
mainland China...that will be the end to making money smuggling Apple products. Don't doubt the China stores will be the first to have new
released products. Probably reverse smuggling (China-USA) would
make money.