The news that Apple opened an online store in Vietnam caused a stir in public opinion. The emergence of the world’s technology “giant” is said to pave the way for the development of a market of hundreds of millions of people. ## **Consumers benefit** On the morning of May 12, Apple made an official announcement about the launch of its online store in Vietnam. “Apple will open an online store in Vietnam at 9:00 am on May 18, 2023,” Apple announced and added that it would provide a full range of equipment, including a Vietnamese-language support team. This move immediately received the attention of the public as well as retail phone and computer businesses in Vietnam. How the technology “big man” will compete in the market of hundreds of millions of people is being discussed. It should be noted that this step of Apple is said to be the beginning of exploiting the potential market of hundreds of millions of people. Apple’s statistical assessments indicate the potential of the Vietnamese market, through the consumption and use habits of iPhone and other products of “Apple defect”. Deirdre O’Brien, Senior Vice President of Retail at Apple, said: “We are honored to expand in Vietnam, and excited to be able to offer Apple care and support. to customers, with the launch of the online Apple Store.” Apple’s online store allows users to choose all products in its ecosystem. From iPhone, iMac, iPad, MacBook … to the accompanying accessories will appear. Users in Vietnam are expected to benefit from the appearance of an online Apple Store. Firstly, this move of Apple helps shorten the waiting time for its new products in Vietnam. If in the past, customers still had to spend a lot of money to “unbox” the newly produced iPhone 14, but still had to wait a few weeks and months to receive the goods, now, iPhone believers will only take a few minutes. days to 1 week, if you want to buy iPhone 15, the phone is expected to launch this year by Apple. This is noted in several other countries in the same region such as Thailand and Singapore. These countries have an online Apple Store presence early on, and users can buy new phones on the day of launch. And in Malaysia, which also has an online Apple Store in group 2, it only takes 7 – 15 days for users to own a new and genuine iPhone. Second, genuine Apple-supplied products will also be guaranteed genuine with genuine components, online warranty, and answer questions. Users will not have to worry about choosing where to warranty, repair or refurbish their equipment. Third, the appearance of the online Apple Store will help customers have an additional reputable reference channel for product prices and product types. MacBook products with high memory that usually do not appear much at authorized stores will now easily reach Vietnamese consumers. Many experts believe that the Apple Store will redefine the ceiling price of its products, helping users to make optimal shopping choices. ## **Retail businesses are not afraid** On the other hand, on the sales side, they are not afraid of the appearance of the Apple Store. “Competitive advantage is still in the hands of Apple authorized stores in Vietnam, big chains such as Minh Tuan, Mobile Viet, FPT Shop, CellphoneS… are not afraid of this appearance. Because, myself. Apple is also not foolish to compete by its authorized resellers, they are simply branding and accessing the market,” said Mr. Le Trong Dat, a brand analyst in Ho Chi Minh City. determined with Nhadautu.vn. Meanwhile, it is predicted that the price of Apple products on the online store will be higher than the price of retail chains in Vietnam. Prices can vary from 2 million to 5 million, depending on the product, depending on the shipping factor and the retail price offered by the company. Regarding the product price factor, representatives of many authorized Apple resellers said that the possibility that Apple’s upcoming online store could offer the same or lower prices than authorized dealers is very low. not even possible. “The appearance of the Apple Store online is not strange. Apple also cannot devalue products because this will directly affect the revenue of authorized dealers, which have been its partners for many years,” she said. Phung Phuong, a media representative of Mobile Viet, assessed and added that Samsung has had its own online sales channel in Vietnam for a long time, but it does not affect the sales of dealers much. Retailers and experts also said that, with a nationwide network of stores, appearing in almost all provinces and cities, Vietnamese businesses will not lose their competitive advantage, because of the characteristics of technology products. requires the actual experience, check the form, avoid errors, which the online Apple Store cannot bring. In addition, the appearance of the Apple online store is also expected to revive phone sales in Vietnam, in the context of the phone market’s negative growth in the last 6 months. ## **Remarkable move of “Apple Defect”** As analyzed, the fact that Apple directly sells goods in Vietnam does not affect the business activities of retail stores in Vietnam and consumers. Consumers also enjoy certain advantages. So why did Apple still decide to open an online store in Vietnam? Sources from the international press and many market analysts in Vietnam said that the market of hundreds of millions of people is “promoting” in the assessment of the US technology company. It should be known that, before the appearance of the Apple online store, a series of its partners such as Foxconn, Quanta … in turn announced projects to sell electronics or open factories in Vietnam. In addition, this move of Apple is also expected to pave the way for its existing physical store in the Vietnamese market, to make the most of its production resources and upgrade services. > Apple gradually loses smartphone market share in Vietnam market > Latest statistics from market research firm GfK show that, in the first quarter of 2023, the whole Vietnamese market consumed 2.86 million smartphones, a sharp decrease compared to the previous quarter. 4 million units in the same period. In the last 6 months, smartphone sales in Vietnam peaked in January, at 1.2 million units. Apple’s smartphone market share in terms of sales in Vietnam is gradually decreasing from 15.4% in January to to 13.2% in March. This number is on track to decrease in the last 6 months, from 17% in October 2022. Although it is losing its attraction, iPhone 14 is still successful in terms of sales compared to the previous year. iPhone 13 same period. On average, in the first three months of the year, the market share by sales of iPhone reached 14.6%, significantly higher than the 9.1% in the same period in the first quarter of 2022.
