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http://www.insanely-great.com/news.php?id=602
Apple growing well in the Middle East
By ron carlson, Insanely Great Mac
July 3rd 2002
With 40 percent unit growth in recent years, Apple''s focus pays off
Jacques Chammas, managing director, Arab Business Machines (Apple Middle East)
recently sat for an interview with CNBC''s Lisa Creffield. Happily, Chammas is the
bearer of good news -- "Definitely we have been seeing a growth in the last three
years - it was around 40 percent growth in the number of units, and around 15 percent
growth in the dollar value."
Chammas goes on to say that Mac sales have been growing steadily; above average for
the region as a whole. He attributes this mainly to Apple''s refined focus since the
return of Steve Jobs as the company''s iCEO.
"We have a good technology, we have certain areas where we excel, and we are playing
the game of focussing really. Because we believe that today the market of the IT is a
market of focussing - if you don''t focus you will not be able to sustain yourself,"
said Chammas.
He praises Jobs for focussing the company''s products and marketing, and pushing that
vision. Like other markets, Chammas says that much of Apple''s success in the Middle
East is centered in the segments where it traditionally has been strong -- graphics,
media creation.
Whither Office, whither the Mac?
The irascible folks, and more often than not, rightly so, at The Register have been
carrying the story of why M$ hasn''t created Arabic and Hebrew versions of Mac Office.
One respondent, George Staikos, in the on-going exchange prompted by the digital
daily''s initial story on the subject puts the issue into stark perspective:
"The KDE project, unfunded, was able to release KOffice 1.2beta2 on June 27 in 56
languages simultaneously. RTL, LTR, the works. If Microsoft is so talented, has so
many resources, and so much cash, you would think they could easily outdo that. I
don''t understand why they don''t have their software translated to 150+ languages.
Hmm, unless they think they can charge extra $$$ for the localised version."
Without localized versions of Office, it''s highly unlikely that Apple will be able to
continue "outgrow" the market and increase it''s market share.
Post your comments at:
http://www.insanely-great.com/news.php?id=602
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