A Weak Response in China for Apple’s Latest Foray

Apple Company has been counting on a long-awaited contract with China Mobile, the world’s biggest cellular operator, to reverse its fortunes in Country. If the quiet reception Friday, when customers were at last able to buy iPhones from China Mobile, is any indication, the companies may have to work harder to whip up passion.

Instead of the round-the-block appearance that have greeted Apple product introductions in China and other countries in the earlier period, only about a dozen customers showed up to buy iPhones at the opening of a store in Beijing,  regardless of the presence of a special guest, Timothy D.Cook, the Apple chief executive.

Timothy D.Cook trip to Beijing was a testament to the weight that Apple has attached to the introduction of iPhones on a mobile network with more than 750 million clients. The contract to sell the iPhone 5S and 5C was announced in December, after years of talks.

Apple was previously an iconic brand in China, where its phones have been sold for years by the second- and third-largest mobile operators, China Unicom and China Telecom. But it has lost position to the market leader in smart phones, Samsung Electronics, and cut-price domestic rivals.

Apple market share has fallen into the single digits.

In some ways, Apple’s challenges come back those of other American brands in China, which gained faithful followings during the country’s boom but have more just been subject to strong scrutiny by the Chinese media, prompting customers to give another look to alternatives.

“Apple used to be the must-have, aspirational brand for all wealthy and middle-class Chinese customers,” Shaun Rein said who is the managing director of CMR, a market research firm “But over the last year, there has been a real decline of the Apple brand.”

Analysts say that Chinese customers are probable to base their purchasing decisions more on the price and features of phones and calling plans. And Apple still has enthusiasts, as well as some of the customers who visited the Beijing store on Friday.