http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2012-12-14/there-go-apples-margins-iphone-5-sell-wal-mart-third-original-price
Submitted by Tyler Durden on 12/14/2012 20:01 -0500
Remember when less than brisk sales of the iPhone 5 after it was first unveiled (to the usual fawning media Borg collective ooh-ing and aah-ing) were blamed on "supply issues" even as "reputable" Wall Street analysts conducted channel checks which foretold of epic holiday sales and massive pent up demand. As it turns out the only commodity in short supply was, well,demand, particularly that coming from consumers, very much as we predicted during the last earnings report (which was merely the latest consecutive earnings miss in a row). And, as Reuters reports with its Friday night bombshell report, Apple has finally thrown in the towel on pretending there is a supply shortage and admitted there is simply not enough demand at the given price point, by proceeding to sell the margin flagship iPhone 5 at a third off the original price, at the bargain basement commodity expert Wal-Mart of all places.And not only the iPhone, but the Ipad too (we have no idea which generation is the latest one: the iPad 3, the New iPad, the iPad 4s, the iPad Mini, the MAXiPad, etc...) And just like that, the "niche premium" magic of the once uber-cool gizmo is gone, not to mention AAPL's profit margins, very much as the stock price has been sensing over the past two months, during which time it lobbed off some $150 billion in market cap. And with the reflexivity of fad-ness, as long as the price of the stock is soaring for whatever reason, interest and demand in the product remains at virtually any cost. Sadly for AAPL bulls, the opposite is also true, as is being witnessed right about now.
http://www.pcadvisor.co.uk/news/mobile-phone/3416514/only-two-people-wait-for-iphone-5-launch-at-beijing-apple-store/
and......
http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2012-12-14/haaplbinger-things-come-or-why-aapl-breaches-its-generational-low-once-again
Submitted by Tyler Durden on 12/14/2012 08:20 -0500
There Go Apple's Margins: iPhone 5 To Sell At Wal-Mart For A Third Off Original Price
Remember when less than brisk sales of the iPhone 5 after it was first unveiled (to the usual fawning media Borg collective ooh-ing and aah-ing) were blamed on "supply issues" even as "reputable" Wall Street analysts conducted channel checks which foretold of epic holiday sales and massive pent up demand. As it turns out the only commodity in short supply was, well,demand, particularly that coming from consumers, very much as we predicted during the last earnings report (which was merely the latest consecutive earnings miss in a row). And, as Reuters reports with its Friday night bombshell report, Apple has finally thrown in the towel on pretending there is a supply shortage and admitted there is simply not enough demand at the given price point, by proceeding to sell the margin flagship iPhone 5 at a third off the original price, at the bargain basement commodity expert Wal-Mart of all places.And not only the iPhone, but the Ipad too (we have no idea which generation is the latest one: the iPad 3, the New iPad, the iPad 4s, the iPad Mini, the MAXiPad, etc...) And just like that, the "niche premium" magic of the once uber-cool gizmo is gone, not to mention AAPL's profit margins, very much as the stock price has been sensing over the past two months, during which time it lobbed off some $150 billion in market cap. And with the reflexivity of fad-ness, as long as the price of the stock is soaring for whatever reason, interest and demand in the product remains at virtually any cost. Sadly for AAPL bulls, the opposite is also true, as is being witnessed right about now.
Alas - as with every fad, the time has once again come to find the new latest and greatest distraction, one with just as ridiculously unsustainable a growth curve.
From Reuters:
Wal-Mart said it is selling the 16 GB Apple iPhone 5 for $127, versus an original price of $189.97. The price is valid with a two-year contract from wireless carriers Verizon, Sprint and AT&T, the retailer added.Wal-Mart said it is also selling the 16 GB iPhone 4S and the 16 GB iPad with Retina display and WiFi at discounts.The offers will be available for 30 days in about 3,000 of Wal-Mart's stores, which were not identified. They are not available online, according to the retailer.Apple has focused on high-priced, premium gadgets for many years and has strictly enforced its prices with retailers and other distributors. However, a Wal-Mart spokeswoman said on Friday that the discounts were arranged with Apple."We worked together with them on this," the spokeswoman, Sarah Spencer, said. "They are a great partner."Wal-Mart is pricing the iPad starting at $399, down from $499. Beginning December 17 the retailer said it will throw in a $30 iTunes card.Wal-Mart is selling the 16 GB iPhone 4S for $47, versus an original price of $89.97, it said.Apple did not respond to a request for comment.We wouldn't either.
http://www.pcadvisor.co.uk/news/mobile-phone/3416514/only-two-people-wait-for-iphone-5-launch-at-beijing-apple-store/
Only two people wait for iPhone 5 launch at Beijing Apple store
Apple finally launched its iPhone 5 in China on Friday
By Michael Kan | 14 December 12
As Apple launched its iPhone 5 in China on Friday, interest at one of the company's stores in Beijing was muted, with only two people waiting in line minutes before the store opened its doors at 8 a.m.
"I thought there would be more people," said 21-year-old Tian Jishen, who was the second person in line on what was a snowy day in the city.
It was a major contrast from 11 months ago when Apple launched its iPhone 4S in China, and a massive crowd of hundreds had gathered outside the same store located in Beijing's Sanlitun district. The customers were later told the store was canceling its first-day sales, prompting one person to throw eggs at the building, which resulted in Apple suspending all iPhone 4S sales at its physical stores in China.
Since then, Apple has instituted an online reservation system at its company stores in China, which appears to have reduced the lines, and prevented further incidents. At the Apple store in Beijing's Sanlitun district, only about ten customers trickled into the store during first half hour after it opened.
Despite the initial low turnout, making an iPhone 5 reservation on Apple's site is not easy, according to Tian, who successfully registered for an order only a day earlier.
"I thought I had no opportunity," he said, after trying to register numerous times. "I've had friends try making a reservation, but they failed."
Analysts are divided on whether the iPhone 5 will sell well in China.
Low-end handsets are currently driving the growth in China's smartphone market, and many high-end users are switching to Samsung handsets, said Gartner analyst Sandy Shen in an interview last month. Apple's iPhone 5 starts at 5,288 yuan (US$841) when bought without a contract.
"I think the high-end market is already saturated with Apple's product. People that should have an Apple product, already have one," she said. "If you ask them to upgrade to the iPhone 5, I don't think they will have a strong enough drive to do it because of the lack of innovation in the new iPhone."
In the third quarter of this year, Apple fell out of the top five among China's largest smartphone vendors, according to different research firms. But some say this suggests "pent up demand," as customers waited for the iPhone 5 to arrive. On Monday, mobile carrier China Unicom said iPhone 5 online reservations reached over 300,000 within the first week of taking requests.
Canalys analyst, Jingwen Wang, said early adopters in China will already have bought the iPhone 5 from the country's gray market vendors. These unofficial vendors have been selling the iPhone 5 for the past two months, buying the product overseas from the U.S. and Hong Kong where it is already selling.
Outside of major cities including Beijing and Shanghai, where Apple has no company stores, consumers will likely resort to buying the iPhone 5 online, or through one of China's major electronic retailers, she said.
23-year-old Hong Tiantan, however, wanted to buy his iPhone 5 from the Apple store in Beijing's Sanlitun district and was able to make a reservation only the day before. He was the first one in line, and said he arrived early because his reservation gave him an hour window between 8 a.m. and 9 a.m. to buy the product.
"I highly regard Apple and its apps," he said. Hong also owns an iPhone 4S, but said he needed to replace it after its glass covering cracked when he dropped it on the street.
and......
http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2012-12-14/haaplbinger-things-come-or-why-aapl-breaches-its-generational-low-once-again
A HAAPLbinger Of Things To Come: Why Apple Breached Its "Generational Bottom" All Over Again
It is often said that a picture paints a thousand words; in the case of this image,we fear that a photo might just kill a thousand Apple Bulls' hopes. Unlike the euphoric (and perhaps 'paid') crowds that emerge to wait night-after-night under the stars in the hopes of being one of the first to get their hands on next-generation iMaterial, it appears the Chinese are just not that bothered when it comes to iPhone5. The photo below, via WSJ's China Real-Time Report, shows the line (all two people) waiting outside of the Beijing Apple Store on the day of the launch of iPhone5 in China.Before you ask; no, one of them is not Gene Munster doing channel-checks. As the article notes, this is arguably "the least eventful launch of an Apple device in the company’s four-year history in the Chinese capital." They go on to note, "at 8 am on Friday, when the store opened to hurrahs from employees, only two consumers stood inside a cordon set up by Apple, though they were joined by a desultory snow man someone had made on a bench near the entrance," and we understand the snowman was under-impressed with the iPhone5.Perhaps this sole image is the best reflection of a 'fad' product and why the 'fad' stock price just pierced generational lows (at $517.48 in pre-market). WWJTD?
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