On Thursday, October 27, 2005, at 06:24PM, Reg Whitely <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote:
>Dumb teacher responding here Rod but... > >On 26 Oct 2005, at 5:27pm, Rod wrote: >> >> A business decision. There are a lot more Coles Myer outlets than >> AppleCentres :-) Coles want the traffic, Apple want the exposure. >> Remember, that also includes petrol stations, supermarkets, etc. >> Right next to those phone cards, that tons of kids buy :-) The >> exposure Apple will get out of this is enormous! > >So why not allow them to be sold from AppleCentres too? I would have >thought the smaller number of AppleCentres v Coles/Myers et al >outlets would not make a significant impact on overall sales, and >would remain loyal to Apple resellers and their customers. A business decision in the sense that to secure the Coles/Myer deal, Apple had to provide exclusive distribution of the cards to Coles/Myer for the first 6 months (imho). After that they can supply pretty much anyone. Its not an uncommon practice, as Apple aren't Robinson Crusoe in tying up a sole distribution deal. A perfect example is the band Presidents of the United States of America. The tickets for their only gig in Perth this week could only be won through 96FM. Too bad if you couldn't get through to win, but provided excellent exposure for 96FM. Plus, 3% of the population use Macs. The rest use PCs. Chances are that someone is more likely to buy a iTMS card waiting a checkout in Coles than strolling into a AppleStore. The more the average Joe PC user sees that Apple symbol where ever he goes, the better chance we have of that person walking into the store with an AppleSymbol at the front to investigate further. Also, the first AppleCentre south of the Swan River is Albany :-) >Interestingly Coles Geraldton was advertising them today. We have no >AppleCentre up here... oops yes we have... Joondalup is in South >Geraldton :-) > I still need my passport stamped when I get the end of the freeway on Saturdays ;-) (Just joshing all you northies!) >Another example of bias against AppleCentres: >I used to be able to buy Apple products at Education prices at my >AppleCentre. Now I must buy them from the online Apple Education >Store, unless it is a computer. Ie, recently I couldn't buy my Mighty >Mouse from <my AppleCentre> at Apple Ed price but had to buy it >online from Apple Ed. If I wanted to buy a new iMac and an iPod as >backup drive, I could buy the iMac from <my AppleCentre> but must buy >the iPod online! That's quite silly! (putting it politely!) > Welcome to the US model of Apple retailing :-) Its the Dell model too. You can make much more money avoiding the middle man and selling direct. Unfortunately you lose all that face to face contact and goodwill that is made through stores like AppleCentres. Granted, there has been some bad eggs out there over the years, but at least the ones that are left have a friendly face when you walk in! Interesting times ahead for Apple Australia....... Seeya Rod!
