蘋(píng)果能不能攻下中國(guó)

????迄今為止，兩大公司在美國(guó)和其他地方法院展開(kāi)的驚心動(dòng)魄的專(zhuān)利大戰(zhàn)還未在中國(guó)上演。中國(guó)官員表示，兩家公司都還沒(méi)有要求他們調(diào)查知識(shí)產(chǎn)權(quán)的相關(guān)訴請(qǐng)。不過(guò)，目前總營(yíng)收入約30%來(lái)自中國(guó)市場(chǎng)的三星已開(kāi)始設(shè)法搶占先機(jī)，在中國(guó)建立良好的品牌形象。它在西安建立了一家大型閃存工廠，公司高管還向《韓國(guó)時(shí)報(bào)》（the Korea Times）透露，他們正在開(kāi)展一場(chǎng)魅力攻勢(shì)，與中國(guó)政府高官開(kāi)展密切接觸。

????不過(guò)，三星對(duì)蘋(píng)果的最大優(yōu)勢(shì)在于其包羅萬(wàn)象的產(chǎn)品線(xiàn)。華爾街知名賣(mài)方研究公司Sanford C. Bernstein的資深技術(shù)分析師馬克?紐曼稱(chēng)：“智能手機(jī)市場(chǎng)正在分化為高端和低端市場(chǎng)?！比窃谶@兩者上都實(shí)力強(qiáng)勁——S7562的零售價(jià)為1,998元，約為317美元——而蘋(píng)果則在高端市場(chǎng)上獨(dú)領(lǐng)風(fēng)騷。iPhone 4s的零售價(jià)約為4,500元，或700多美元。電信公司為簽約服務(wù)提供補(bǔ)貼，能在合同期內(nèi)明顯降低購(gòu)機(jī)成本。但即便有這樣的優(yōu)惠條件，但對(duì)一個(gè)2011年人均年收入不到5,000美元的國(guó)家（沿海地區(qū)這個(gè)數(shù)字接近10,000美元）來(lái)說(shuō)，一部iPhone也是一筆不小的前期投資。因此，當(dāng)那些有錢(qián)的中國(guó)人，也就是那些逛路易威登（Louis Vuitton）精品店，買(mǎi)寶馬（BMW）的那些人能輕松買(mǎi)一部iPhone時(shí)，絕大多數(shù)中國(guó)人，甚至包括那些所謂的新晉中產(chǎn)階級(jí)，也對(duì)價(jià)格格外敏感。

????請(qǐng)看這個(gè)情況：《財(cái)富》雜志（Fortune）曾在中國(guó)的三個(gè)城市訪問(wèn)過(guò)150多位正在購(gòu)買(mǎi)智能手機(jī)的年輕人。超過(guò)半數(shù)的受訪者都覺(jué)得魏敬平（音譯）說(shuō)出了他們的心聲。魏先生是繁華的南方城市廣州的一位26歲的白領(lǐng)，他說(shuō)：“我喜歡iPhone，它很酷。但它的價(jià)格有點(diǎn)超出我的承受能力了。我需要多掙點(diǎn)錢(qián)才能買(mǎi)一部?？赡茉龠^(guò)個(gè)幾年吧?！辈贿^(guò)，等到那個(gè)時(shí)候，他可能已經(jīng)變成另一個(gè)品牌的忠實(shí)用戶(hù)了。

????這個(gè)問(wèn)題對(duì)蘋(píng)果和華爾街來(lái)說(shuō)同樣迫切而重要。Sanford Bernstein公司的蘋(píng)果分析師托尼?薩克納吉估算，中國(guó)消費(fèi)者購(gòu)買(mǎi)的智能手機(jī)有70%多售價(jià)在300美元以下。在今年蘋(píng)果與分析師進(jìn)行的一次電話(huà)會(huì)議上，薩克納吉問(wèn)庫(kù)克，是否廉價(jià)智能機(jī)的普及限制了蘋(píng)果在中國(guó)獲得更大市場(chǎng)份額的能力。庫(kù)克對(duì)他的數(shù)據(jù)提出了質(zhì)疑，但也沒(méi)有提供自己關(guān)于低端智能機(jī)方面的銷(xiāo)售估算。他對(duì)分析師的這個(gè)問(wèn)題避而不談，轉(zhuǎn)而做了一番標(biāo)準(zhǔn)的蘋(píng)果式回答：“我們會(huì)堅(jiān)持自己的品質(zhì)，生產(chǎn)最好的產(chǎn)品。如果做到了這一點(diǎn)，我們就會(huì)有非常非常好的前景?！保ㄌO(píng)果拒絕為本報(bào)道進(jìn)一步說(shuō)明此事。）庫(kù)克堅(jiān)守高端產(chǎn)品的戰(zhàn)略確實(shí)讓蘋(píng)果維持了高額利潤(rùn)，其2011年的毛利率高達(dá)40.5%。

????由于產(chǎn)品線(xiàn)豐富，三星還能接近更多的中國(guó)消費(fèi)者。除了手機(jī)、平板電腦和個(gè)人電腦外，三星還銷(xiāo)售電視、相機(jī)，甚至微波爐這類(lèi)家電產(chǎn)品。憑借如此多樣化的產(chǎn)品線(xiàn)，三星與成千上萬(wàn)的零售商和分銷(xiāo)商都建立了業(yè)務(wù)往來(lái)，包括那些所謂的五線(xiàn)城市，即人口在50萬(wàn)左右的城市的經(jīng)銷(xiāo)商。這些夫妻店可能沒(méi)有蘋(píng)果專(zhuān)賣(mài)店那么魅力四射、名頭響亮，但是現(xiàn)在蘋(píng)果在中國(guó)大城市只有五家直營(yíng)店，還有上百家授權(quán)店。蘋(píng)果表示，計(jì)劃在未來(lái)幾個(gè)月再開(kāi)幾家旗艦店，但是不肯透露具體地點(diǎn)或日期。

????So far the companies' epic patent infringement battle, playing out in courtrooms in the U.S. and elsewhere, has yet to reach China. Chinese officials say they haven't been asked to investigate intellectual-property claims by either company. But Samsung, which currently gets about 30% of its overall revenue from China, is already seeking to preemptively engender goodwill there. It is building a huge flash-memory factory in the city of Xian, and company executives told the Korea Times that they are on a charm offensive, meeting with high-level Chinese government officials.

????Samsung's biggest edge over Apple, though, is the breadth of its product line. "The smartphone market is bifurcating into premium and low end,'' notes Mark Newman, a senior technology analyst at Sanford C. Bernstein. Samsung is strong at both ends of the spectrum -- the S 7562 model retails for about 1,998 renminbi, or $317 -- while Apple plays in the high end alone. The iPhone 4s retails for about 4,500 RMB, or more than $700. Phone companies offer subsidies in exchange for service deals that can push the cost of the device down significantly over the life of the contract. But even with such discounts, an iPhone is an extraordinarily big upfront investment in a country where per capita annual income in 2011 was less than $5,000. (In urban China that figure rises to just under $10,000.) And so while the über-wealthy Chinese -- those who shop at Louis Vuitton and buy BMWs -- can handily afford an iPhone, most Chinese consumers, even those in the new middle class, remain intensely price-conscious.

????Consider: Fortune interviewed more than 150 young Chinese in three different cities while they were shopping for smartphones. More than half echoed the sentiments of Wei Jinping, a 26-year-old office worker in the prosperous southern city of Guangzhou. "I like the iPhone, it's very cool. But it is a bit out of my price range," he said. "I need to make more money to buy one. Maybe in a couple of years." By the time Wei is ready to step up, though, he may have already become a loyal customer of another brand.

????This issue is front and center for Apple -- and for Wall Street. Toni Sacconaghi, Sanford Bernstein's Apple analyst, estimates that 70% or more of the smartphones currently purchased in China sell for $300 or less. On a call for analysts earlier this year Sacconaghi asked Cook whether the popularity of cheaper phones limits Apple's ability to gain market share in China. Cook challenged Sacconaghi's data but didn't offer his own estimates on low-end smartphones. He also evaded the analyst's question, instead offering a pretty standard Apple line. "We're going to stick to our knitting and make the best products," Cook replied. "And we think that if we do that, we've got a very, very good business ahead of us.'' (Apple declined to elaborate further on the issue for this story.) Cook's commitment to high-end devices certainly helps Apple preserve its margins; its gross margin percentage in 2011 was 40.5%.

????Samsung is also able to reach a wider swath of Chinese consumers, thanks in part to its broad portfolio. In addition to phones and tablets and computers, it sells televisions, cameras, and even appliances such as microwaves. With this diverse product line, Samsung has relationships with tens of thousands of retailers and distributors, including venders in so-called Tier 5 cities, those with around 500,000 residents. The mom-and-pop stores may lack the glamour and prestige of the Apple stores, but for now Apple has only five company-owned stores in China's major cities, and hundreds of licensed stores. Apple says it plans to open several additional flagship stores in the next few months but wouldn't offer specific locations or dates.