As a benchmark in the field of smart phones, Apple's smart phones have been taking the high-end route. But in the past two years, the high profile Apple has put down its figure and used some practical actions to get close to the public, especially its attitude towards the Chinese market has changed a lot.
According to the International Finance News on December 29, the third-party repair platform "hi Repair", which is mainly engaged in O2O mobile phone digital on-site repair and recycling business, has officially become the first independent repair service provider in Apple China, which means that Apple mobile phone users in China You will be able to repair your iPhone without going out.
In the eyes of many people, Apple made this decision a bit unexpected. Prior to this, Apple basically maintained a "not approved" attitude towards third-party repairs. Some consumers failed to repair them through third-party repair channels, and then repaired them through Apple's official channels. Even if the warranty period is still valid, Apple will no longer provide Free maintenance.
Prior to this, why is Apple's so high profile popular with fruit fans? Recently, with a low profile and finalizing China's independent repairers, what is Apple's purpose to please consumers in China?
Highly cold Apple once used "high force" marketing to get out of the circle
Time jumped back to January 9, 2007. The emergence of the first generation Phone can be said to have changed the entire mobile phone industry-its 3.5-inch full touch screen, metal body and iPhone OS really opened the era of smartphones. Door, although today it seems that this phone is no longer outstanding.
Apple founder Steve Jobs stated that, based on the needs of individual consumers, popularized personal computers are the focus, and the development of services and products is guided by user personalization. At that time, Apple Computer represented and meant maverick, "cool" industrial design and fashion technology.
The high price, exquisite body, and independent system all show the high standard of Apple mobile phones, and it is true that Apple mobile phones are much easier to use than other Android phones. Moreover, Apple has captured people's consumer price psychology, that is, the more expensive things are better, this law has attracted a large number of consumers. Even AirPods, which are usually given to Apple for mobile phones, are not bundled as a gift, which can be said to be very cold.
But relying on this alone cannot be able to stand for more than a decade like Apple's mobile phone, Apple brand products have a huge consumer group in the world. More importantly, Apple has a group of "believers" consumers with basic doctrine and high brand loyalty.
In the first few years of the development of 4G, Apple borrowed from the iOS system and continuous innovation on smart phones, which also allowed Apple's mobile phone sales to rise steadily. But in any era, if you can't sustain innovation, companies will easily go downhill. In the past two years, Apple seems to be facing growth difficulties in mobile phone sales.
Especially when the 5G era is coming, competitors that were lagging behind are eagerly climbing forward. Even the cold Apple will inevitably make compromises for sales. The expansion of third-party repairers is such a signal.
Apple is forced to put down its high profile
Why Apple, which has always been very cold, put down its body? This has a great relationship with the impact of Apple's sales during the epidemic. According to Apple’s latest quarterly financial report data, iPhone’s sales revenue was US$26.4 billion, a 20% year-on-year decline compared with US$33.4 billion in the same period last year; it was basically the same as the US$26.4 billion in the previous quarter.
The decline in sales of the iPhone 11 series in July-September and the postponement of the iPhone 12 series have adversely affected Apple's iPhone sales growth. According to IDC statistics: iPhone shipments in the third quarter fell 10.6% year-on-year, ranking fourth, followed by Samsung, Huawei, and Xiaomi.
Looking specifically at the Chinese market, iPhone sales fell sharply again in September, down nearly 68-71% year-on-year. In the following new product release, according to statistics, the number of iPhone 12 bookings on the first day reached 2 million units, of which 35%-45% of the demand came from China. Last year, the total sales of iPhone 11 on the first day were about 800,000 units.
In order to restore sales in the Chinese market, Apple has also made concessions on prices. According to the latest report released by Counterpoint, a market research organization, in the second quarter of this year, China’s mobile phone sales fell by 17% year-on-year, but Apple’s mobile phone sales achieved a contrarian growth with a year-on-year increase of 32%. It was the only major growth record except Huawei Mobile phone brands.
Counterpoint pointed out in the report that the continued popularity of the iPhone 11 series and price cuts helped Apple achieve a substantial increase in sales in the second quarter. It can be said that the Chinese market has created ordinary revenue for Apple.
However, it is not a good thing for Apple to remain cold in the face of such an important financial father. Don’t forget, China’s smartphones have also been on the rise in recent years.
According to the "China Smartphone Market Third Quarter Report" released by CINNO Research, Huawei, vivo, OPPO, Xiaomi, and Apple account for the top five sales. Among them, Huawei's sales volume was 28.8 million units, a decrease of 29% over the same period last year, Xiaomi's sales volume increased by 26% over the same period last year, and Apple's shipments were 8.1 million units, a year-on-year increase of 9%.
Therefore, it is extremely important to restore the heart of the Chinese market, and Apple’s crucial move is to authorize an independent repair service provider. According to statistics from the China Academy of Communications, China’s mobile phone shipments in 2019 were 389 million units, and the repair rate of mobile phones was between 10% and 15%. According to this calculation, in 2019 alone, China had nearly 39 million units. ~58 million mobile phones generate maintenance demand. The actual data is better than the budget. In 2019, the maintenance demand for new and stock mobile phones is close to 100 million units. If the unit price is calculated at 300 yuan per customer, the scale of repaired mobile phones can reach 30 to 50 billion yuan.
Hi repair, which was able to cooperate with Apple, was launched as early as 2015. Up to now, the number of engineers on the platform has reached more than 600, and the average daily number of orders has exceeded 3,000, and on-site repair and recycling services have been opened in more than 30 large and medium cities across the country. , And all adopt vertical control mode.
As the leading brand in the O2O mobile phone repair industry, Hi Repair has also been favored by capital: in March 2016, it received 30 million yuan in Series A financing provided by A-share listed company Kaiying Networks, and in June 2017. A+ round of financing of 50 million yuan led by Kaiying Network.
This cooperation with hi maintenance also means that Apple will reduce the construction time and cost of repair sites and other later stages, and can use hi maintenance and word of mouth and services to reverse its consistent impression of after-sales in the eyes of Chinese customers. Of course, it's not just China. As early as July, Apple had already announced its plans to expand independent repairers in multiple countries.
In addition to the most intuitive sales decline and optimism about the maintenance market, Apple's low profile is also related to the high level of global smartphone penetration, and the market increment space has been gradually shrinking. With the release of Samsung Galaxy Z Fold2 5G foldable smartphones and the release of Huawei Mate 40 series, iPhone sales revenue in the new quarter will still face considerable challenges.
In addition, the iPhone has lacked innovation in recent years. Since the iPhone X started the full-screen era, the iPhone XS series and iPhone11 series have lacked innovation and have not achieved major breakthroughs in the product. The 5G version of the iPhone12 has been long overdue. The boost to quarterly iPhone sales was minimal.
At the same time, Chinese smartphone manufacturers continue to climb the technology tree, and in some respects even do better than Apple. It is only due to the fact that the Matthew effect in the 4G era is difficult to cross the mountain of Apple, but they are still in the Chinese market. Cannibalize share.
The arrival of the first year of 5G in 2020 brings new opportunities. China has taken the lead in the 5G era, and many domestic flagship 5G mobile phones have been released before the iPhone 12. The global penetration rate of 5G mobile phones is also accelerating. According to Zhiyan Consulting, global 5G smartphone shipments are expected to increase by more than ten times from 19 million units in 2019 to 199 million units in 2020. The 5G penetration rate will increase from 2019. 1% of all global smartphone shipments will grow to 15% in 2020,
Whether it is cutting prices to please consumers in the Chinese market to stimulate sales growth, or setting up maintenance and after-sales services in China, behind these changes, perhaps it is also Apple's realization that instead of maintaining a high profile, appropriate adjustments may not be under performance pressure. The key to not making changes.
Conclusion
Although Apple is still the leader in the smartphone industry and has a group of loyal fans, its excessive posture will make it lose its "popularity". The decline in the Chinese market this year may not be without such factors. With the advent of the 5G era, a new war will start again. Whether Apple can maintain its lead, we will wait and see!
Source of the article: US Stock Research Institute, please indicate the copyright for reprinting.