Big brands continue with a mainland-tourists-only sales orientation

The Times has learned that some local representatives of major electronics brands continue to have a mainland-tourists-only approach to sales, disregarding other markets such as the local market.

In the initial report, a reader reported to the Times that the local branches of technology company Apple would not help local customers acquire customized products and, instead, would only sell the company’s standard products in Macau.

The Times has confirmed this report. The sales representative added that Apple Macau also will not help local clients place orders in the neighboring region of Hong Kong.

According to several salespeople, Apple Macau does not have an online store and only runs physical stores that can only provide the standard products they have in stock.

To learn more about the reasons behind this a commercial decision, the Times has reached out to a former employee of Apple Macau who agreed to give an anonymous interview.

This former employee explained that the sales policy of Apple Macau is solely oriented to cater to mainland visitors and, because of that, are very focused on small devices such as mobile phones, smart watches, tablets and laptops.

The same person noted that, while the stores must provide aftersales assistance to all Apple clients in Macau, including products acquired from other official retailers, they purposely avoid sales of larger items such as desktop computers and do not assist in purchases of customized products or orders from Hong Kong, contrary to what happens with other local Apple retailers.

A representative at Apple Hong Kong was surprised to learn that Apple Macau does not provide such a service. The service is common in any Apple Store in Hong Kong and Macau clients can place customized orders through the Apple Hong Kong online store, but these orders need to be collected at a Hong Kong store and are not shipped to Macau.

ORDER FROM MACAU TO DELIVER IN MACAU

After several inquiries made at local Apple retailers in Macau, the Times also learned that local customers could place customized orders in Macau and collect them locally if they use local retailers.

Sales representatives explained to the Times that the procedure is simple and uses the Apple Hong Kong online store. Clients can choose and customize an Apple product on the website and then inform the local retailer of the specifications.

The same representative also explained that such an order usually takes from two to three weeks to be delivered in Macau. When the order is placed, the local client needs to pay a deposit to secure the order, settling the remaining cost of the product when it is delivered.

The solution, although time-consuming, seems to be the only way for local customers to overcome the lack of integration between the Apple Stores in Macau and Hong Kong, which, as the former employee told the Times, is an intentional commercial decision by the company.

According to the retail sales representative, the sale prices are as stated on the Apple Hong Kong website, with the local companies not charging any extra fee for the service or shipping.