Chinese Apple Fans Twice as Likely to Purchase Future Apple Products
“China represents Apple’s next major geographic growth opportunity.” So says Morgan Stanley (MS) analyst Katy Huberty, who believes the new retail stores the company plans to open in the country in the next few years will spike its sales.
In a research note issued this morning, Huberty describes a “positive correlation between Apple (AAPL) store expansion and Mac market share” and applies it to Apple’s plans for 25 new retail stores in China. Though the company has less than one percent market share in China today, she writes, there is significant untapped demand for its products.
“Our Dec ’09 proprietary survey of 1,050 high-end Chinese consumers, representing an addressable population of 50 million, points to strong underlying demand for Apple products….What’s more, Chinese Apple product owners are 2x more likely to purchase future Apple products according to our survey. We believe Apple’s investment in China targets the revenue upside from this halo-effect.” (Click on charts below to enlarge.)
And that’s a safe bet: As COO Tim Cook noted during Apple’s January earnings call, “if you look at greater China last quarter, which is China, Hong Kong and Taiwan, our revenues tripled year-over-year in that geography which is I think phenomenal by any measure. We have a tremendous focus on it.”