Does Apple Lose Sales Due To Macworld?

In a previous post discussing reasons why Apple would pull out of Macworld, I used the following as one potential reason:

Macworld is affecting Holiday sales too much… Who would buy a Mac leading up to Macworld? OK, so this year wasn’t too bad as they released a refreshed range of laptops just before the holiday season so they were safe, but iMacs, Mac Minis, Mac Pros? No, I would imaging that the sales of Mac desktops across the range are severely depressed for the couple of months leading up to Macworld. Apple need to break this behaviour to boost holiday sales.

On reflection, I wonder if this is actually the case and if Apple does actually need to break the lull caused by Macworld. I'm sure that new Mac users are not even aware of Macworld so it's unlikely they will defer any planned purchases until after January. Existing Mac users may well hold back until after Macworld, but this won't alter the fact that they will still buy Apple products, they just defer them or buy an alternative Apple product if announced at Macworld. Perhaps the Macworld effect does not negatively impact holiday sales at all? It may well be that Apple may like to spread out the sales more uniformly during the quarter, but even then, the argument that the sudden release of pent up demand following Macworld does a lot to make the usually quiet month of January another bumper month for Apple. Just a thought!

Click to read more ...

Live Mac Roundtable at Macworld

Getting back into the swing of things following Christmas (I hope you and yours have a great time!) and getting ready for New year and then immediately following that - Macworld 2009! There's a couple of events I'll be attending or participating in, but one recent addition is the inclusion of a live Mac Roundtable recording at Macworld. We knew some of the crew would be getting together at Macworld but we only decided to approach IDG just before Christmas to see if there was anything we could do for us at the last minute. To our delight and suprise, they were able to offer us a free slot at the Macworld Learning Center Booth (# 3236) in North Hall on Wednesday 7th January between 4:00-5:00pm Thank you IDG!!! Up to now, we have the following confirmed members of the crew making an appearance for the live recording: Allison Sheridan: NosillaCast Chuck Joiner (prov): macvoices.com Katie Floyd: themaccore.com Don McAllister: screencastsonline.com David Sparks: macsparky.com Victor Cajiao typicalmacuser Adam Christianson The Maccast We've not yet finalised the format of the show, but I would imagine we'll be chatting about what we've seen at the show and the usual small talk! If you're at Macworld we would love you to come along and say hello. Baring an technical issues, we'll be recording and publishing the show on the Mac Roundtable feed soon after.

Click to read more ...

Hang on a minute....

Some additional thoughts about the recent Apple announcements... We all know that Apple needs to put in a succession plan for the day when Steve steps down at Apple. It has to happen at some stage people, regardless of any issues over his health. The dependance on Steve is both a major plus and a major thorn in the side for Apple, having unreasonable impacts on the stock price. We all know that with the current perceptions, when Steve does eventually step down, the stock will be crucified and investor confidence will be shaken to the core. So when to start the process? How about, when the stock is already severely depressed. Like now! Check! If they planned to do it three years from now, stock could well be back up in the $200 mark so it would be madness to act then. Start now and reduce the effect on the stock as it can't go much lower anyway. But how to start introducing the succession plan and remove the dependancy on Steve? Pull him from high profile events that already have the eyes of the world focussed in. Check! OK, so Apple replace him with Phil at Macworld. Already, we're seeing expectations being reduced, analysists forecast a "low key" keynote with little substance. No new product announcements. Somethings up at Apple! But hang on a minute, a "low-key" keynote would re-inforce the perception that Apple is Steve. Imagine the press - no announcements at Macworld, Apple on the back foot, see what happens when Steve isn't in control? No, the smart move for Apple would be to get Phil to do a stellar keynote. Just knock it out of the park. Include some amazing product announcements completely out of left field. Put the buzz back into Macworld. Show the world that Apple isn't just Steve Jobs. End result - people can start to relax about the succession, Apple can still deliver. Steve can still be in control for as long as he wants, stocks won't tumble each time he doesn't appear on stage. It's not going to happen from a single keynote, but I bet you it's the start of a gradual process to remove the unnecessary and unfounded bashing of Apple stock based on the perceived dependancy of just one man - albeit an incredibly important man. Just a thought!

Click to read more ...

10 reasons why Apple pulled out of Macworld Expo....

In no particular order... It costs Apple too much... Quite probably. For little actual return, the investment required for Macworld must be significant with the huge booths and staffing. But realistically, the booths, whilst impressive in size, really don't deliver much information and you can just as easily nip down to your local Apple store these days and get more information. Although it probably costs them a significant amount of money each year, cost should not really be an issue for Apple, with having $25 billion in cash reserves. So yes, fiscally prudent in these "Credit Crunch" times but cost is not really a barrier to Apple and I would doubt this is one of the primary reasons but a real easy one to fall back on. Steve is sick... Here we go again! Yes, I suppose it's possible but I really don't think it's the reason for pulling out of Macworld or handing the Keynote baton to Phil Schiller. It's also very irresponsible for people to speculate over Steves health without confirmation or any actual hard evidence, but seems to have become a bit of a mantra in the Apple press. Steve hates Macworld... Actually, the grapevine says he does. Perhaps the incident with Violet Blue last year pushed him over the edge! Having to have products ready is too restrictive... Apple have made a rod for their own back by having this extremely theatrical product "announcementfest" every year in January. This forces them into what must be an extremely difficult and stressful product development cycle for which the end goal must be to have some major secret product announcements ready for each January, preferably with these wonder products available to ship, worldwide, on the same day. Who decided that Apple needed to have this big product launch every January? Well probably Apple themselves! Presumably, at a time when they needed a launchpad to re-establish themselves on the world stage, but you know what, they no longer need to do that! Any product announcement at any time of the year will have major press coverage, Macworld is no longer needed to gain attention on the world stage. Nothing ready this year... There will be announcements this year, perhaps not "iPhone" level announcements but Apple will have a few suprises up their sleeves. Thye will probably start the hype machine for Snow Leopard with demos of some of the extra features that they have said don't exist. It may well be a more software oriented keynote this year. I doubt very much that with the level of planning that goes on within Apple that they've got within three weeks of the keynote and suddenly realised that they've nothing to show! This has been planned for months, possibly seeded as an idea as long ago as the last iPhone keynote. Apple need to break the "Cult of Apple"... I did mention this in my last blog post, but I do think Apple have decided to try and distance themselves from the perception of the "Cult of Mac". They need to position themselves as a credible consumer electronics company and move away from the perception that some (most?) people have outside of the Apple community, that of some wacky, cultish organisation with fanatical followers. As much as I hate to say it, Macworld fuels that perception, and the Keynote with Steve Jobs is probably the biggest culprit. I'm positive that the recent Simpsons "Mapple" spoof brought this home in a big way. Macworld is affecting Holiday sales too much... Who would buy a Mac leading up to Macworld? OK, so this year wasn't too bad as they released a refreshed range of laptops just before the holiday season so they were safe, but iMacs, Mac Minis, Mac Pros? No, I would imaging that the sales of Mac desktops across the range are severely depressed for the couple of months leading up to Macworld. Apple need to break this behaviour to boost holiday sales. Apple need to prepare for Steves successor... Absolutely! They have to break away from the perception that Steve Jobs is Apple. Whilst he is still a major factor in their success, part of his brilliance is assembling a crack team around him and turning Apple into one of the most effective organisations in the world. How they managed to conceive, design and execute on the iPhone in such secrecy is an absolute marvel. It wasn't Steve who did this, it was Apple. So yes, they must start to prepare for Steves replacement and the removal of Steve from the keynote is just a step down that path. Will Phil Schiller be his successor? I doubt it, we'll most likely see several more high ranking Apple lieutenants take the stage throughout the year. Steve hates Apple fans... Don't take it personally guys! This is a pure business decision at the highest level. Apple has only a minor presence at Macworld... True! Aside from the keynote (which is a highlight, there's no denying that) the Apple booths and exhibits are not really a big draw. I'm not travelling 5,000 miles to go an see an iMac running iLife, I can nip into my home town center to see that. I have tons of web resources I can draw on, loads of news sites, more RSS feeds than I can process and so much information at my fingertips that I really don't need to chat with some college kid wearing an Apple Tshirt who has had a 30 minute briefing on the one product he's standing next to (no offence Apple demo people at Macworld!). No, I'm there to see the thriving third party software and hardware vendors and their exhibits, I'm there to meet with developers to see their latest products and discuss their plans for future directions, I'm there to see cool stuff, I'm there to listen to great speakers and learn new stuff, I'm there to network with all my Mac friends and yes, even to go to a few parties! Summary I'm sure there are lots of other reasons why Apple decided to drop out of Macworld Expo next year and replace Steve Jobs as the keynote speaker, but we'll never know the true reasons. What's the biggest impact? For me it's the removal of Steve Jobs as the keynote speaker. But there will still be a keynote, and we'll learn of more cool Apple stuff. Many people are saying it's the death of Macworld Expo and giving the example of the demise of macworld Boston and other tradeshows. I think it's fair to say that in the current economic climate, tradeshows are going to have a tough time across the board and there will be casualties. But Macworld is not dead, it may have been wounded but hopefully not fatally. After all, it's not Apples Macworld, it's our Macworld and provided with don't all start wailing and moaning about the fact Apple is no longer there, you'll probably not even notice it.

Click to read more ...

Doomed, we're all doomed......

Not really! Firstly, Let me just start out by saying that I feel sorry for all the Mac fans who have decided to attend Macworld for the first time this year. They probably feel really cut up about Apples decision to pull out of the Expo next year, but most especially due to the fact they'll not have a Stevenote this year. It's a pity Apple left it so late to announce but had they announced it any earlier, the effect on attendance would probably have been devastating. As it stands now, most people have already made arrangements and are still committed to go. Speaking as some one who has been to two previous Macworlds, I'd just like to reassure people that it's not the end of the world for this year. Yes, we'll miss the Stevenote but as far as I'm aware, Apple will still have a booth this year. However, if I'm totally honest and from my past experiences, if the Apple booth wasn't there this year, I really wouldn't be too upset. Yes, it's nice to get hands on with some new products but when the iPhone was launched it was limited to two iPhones in glass cases. When the MacBook Air was launched, they did have quite a large table (or 20) with them on, but that was it. Everything else was exactly the same as what you can see in the Apple store. Even the Apple people on staff weren't that knowledgeable, really, 20 minutes and I was done with the Apple stuff and moved on to the next thing on the enormous show floor. The main draw for me at Macworld (OK, yes I liked the excitement of the Stevenote) was the show floor, the Macworld sessions but mainly the people and the sense of community. Oh, and the parties! There is no reason why it shouldn't be the same this year as long as people don't fall into the trap of turning it into a wake! Apple are still churning out amazing products and are in a strong position moving forward. The fact there is no Stevenote doesn't mean there won't be any announcements at Macworld - it's possible but the absence of Steve and no announcements would send all the wrong messages. So basically, don't get too upset. This year has still the makings of a fantastic show. Apple are just tightening their belts and perhaps trying to back off a little from the "cultishness" that Macworld seems to fuel. You really have to wonder if that recent Simpsons episode hit a little too close to home? I don't know about you, but it made me feel just a tad uncomfortable, funny as it was! Don't get me wrong, I'm completely on board with the whole Apple thing, but as a multi billion dollar corporate entity, don't Apple have a responsibility (and isn't it in their best long term interests) to try and negate the "Steve" effect and the outside worlds perception. Perhaps they just felt now was the time to do it. As for next year, who knows what the repercussions will be? It's too early to say but a lot will depend on how this years show is perceived and the reaction of the fans and the news sites. I say, we really don't make that much of a song and dance about it, and really, other than the absence of the flurry of excitement on the Tuesday morning, Macworld will hardly be any different this year.

Click to read more ...