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10 Aug 2010
Comments:2
I have long said that I am a fan of Apple products – indeed I am the proud owner of an iPhone 3G and am eyeing up the new iMac.
But I am not a fan of how it appears to treat its partners and the careless disregard it seems to have for its channel.
When Apple first opened its Regent Street store, a number of Apple Premium Resellers (APRs) were up in arms as they feared it could take away vital business from them at a time when the recession was just beginning to bite.
Further reading
Indeed, a few were forced to look at alternatives as the vendor continued opening stores across the UK – often on their APRs’ doorstep.
So the opening of Apple’s latest store in Covent Garden this weekend is hardly the best news when business is still tough.
Luckily, many felt the store would attract tourists and casual business, rather than take away their core business users, and some were even confident of picking up support customers as a result.
What I will say is that it will be interesting to see how Apple treats its partners if times ever get tough.
Sara Yirrell is editor of CRN. If you have any comments about this editorial or the industry - please contact her at sara.yirrell@incisivemedia.com
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Do you agree?
Too Bad
I really don't feel too much pain for resellers. Apple products have always been cheaper to buy online. Resellers make very small margins and it's a risky business to get into to begin with. It took them a while, but they've finally gotten into the retail business for themselves.
Resellers have known for years that Apple has planned to continue expanding. It's not like they create hundreds of stores overnight.
There are some great Mac resellers, but there are also some major duds. If you can't offer the customer something more than Apple stores do, or better service or whatnot, then you can't compete.
I love to support small and local businesses, but resellers of Apple products are on shaky ground. Apple wants to expand and control as much of its empire as it possibly can.
We can villainize them for it, but in the end it's just business. The resellers would do the same thing if they were in that position.
Posted by Matt | 11 Aug 2010
It's good business
Sara, you make it sound like Apple is opening stores near the location of resellers, just to harm them.
The truth is that Apple positions stores where the highest traffic for its prospective customers are (which is the same reason that resellers have stores in the same area).
As long as resellers offer competitive service, and also some of their products are not available in the Apple Store, they will continue to thrive...and might possibly increase traffic due to the traffic generated by the nearby Apple Store.
Posted by Harvey | 11 Aug 2010
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