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iPod Not As Big a Hit in Competitive South Korean Marketplace

by , 6:00 AM EST, March 30th, 2005

A comprehensive article in The Korea Times takes a look at how Apple's iPod models are fairing against the competition in South Korea, where locally made flash-based players control the biggest share of the market.

In South Korea, ReignCom's iRiver is the number one seller of music players, while Samsung's Yepp and Cowon System's iAudio round out the top three. The preference for flash-based players kept Apple in the background until recently, when it launched the iPod shuffle at highly competitive prices. In response, however, competitors lowered their prices, dampening the iPod shuffle's reception in South Korea.

Also affecting the iPod shuffle's success is its minimalist feature set. South Koreans like their music players to have extra features, such as a display and FM tuner, options that are lacking on the shuffle. As a result, an Apple representative said the company has seen more demand for the 4GB iPod mini, which recently received a price cut, than there has been for the slightly less expensive 1GB iPod shuffle.

For their parts, none of the current leaders in the South Korean marketplace are worried about Apple or other competitors. All the companies told The Korea Times that they are sticking to their guns, maintaing current forecasts, and looking forward to healthy competition.

Observer Comments

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Close Name:KitsuneStudios Posts: 2490 Joined: 25 Oct 2001
Wed Mar 30, 2005 9:42 am Subject:

Not surprising. One of the real advantages to an iPod over the competition is compatability the iTunes Music Store, which isn't available over there. Between that and local manufacturers, it's a tough market.


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Close Name:Guest
Wed Mar 30, 2005 11:26 am Subject: Additionally…

Asian markets tend to be protectionist and closed to the outside world; also they tend to buy "home" rather than imports (Japan seems to be bucking the trend a bit with their adoption of the iPod though). I don't know much about the music cultural habits of Koreans so Apple may have an uphill climb on this one; but in some markets, Apple may be better off being the #2 brand.


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Close Name:Guest
Wed Mar 30, 2005 11:54 am Subject: Oh no, run for the hills ...

This must _surely_ mean that Apple is dooooomed .....

*LOL*


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Close Name:Guest
Wed Mar 30, 2005 12:25 pm Subject: Price first Quality second

Living in Korea for 6 years, the market mentality that I see of Korea is price first, quality second. For Korean MP3 players, people want cheaper, smaller, stylish, faster, with quality coming in last. In Korea, only the rich kids or the fashion elite carry around the iPod. I have only seen 1 in 20 carry around a hard-disk MP3 player(these are iPods). Most have flash MP3 players.

Another thing; the Apple Culture does not fit well in Korea because the masses care more about price than quality. Apple is all about quality computers, quality consumer electronics. In Korea, if the price fits, the user interface is not important. That is why Korean computers are basically 98% MS Windows, 1.5% Linux/UNIX, and 0.5% Apple Mac. This is why Korea is Microsoft's dream market.


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Close Name:Mace Posts: 9604 Joined: 07 Aug 2003
Wed Mar 30, 2005 1:01 pm Subject: Re: Price first Quality second

Quote
Anonymous wrote:
Living in Korea for 6 years, the market mentality that I see of Korea is price first, quality second. For Korean MP3 players, people want cheaper, smaller, stylish, faster, with quality coming in last. In Korea, only the rich kids or the fashion elite carry around the iPod. I have only seen 1 in 20 carry around a hard-disk MP3 player(these are iPods). Most have flash MP3 players.

Another thing; the Apple Culture does not fit well in Korea because the masses care more about price than quality. Apple is all about quality computers, quality consumer electronics. In Korea, if the price fits, the user interface is not important. That is why Korean computers are basically 98% MS Windows, 1.5% Linux/UNIX, and 0.5% Apple Mac. This is why Korea is Microsoft's dream market.
Agree with this poster. Most Asians are price first, quality second. However, as the society gets more affluent and with the rise of yuppies, quality is increasing valued. In any case, I expect cheaper iPod shuffle during Christmas quarter.

That said, I felt Korean Times is trying to downplay the success of iPod shuffle. If you read between the lines, the Korean MP3 vendors do not expect iPod shuffle to be that successful.


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Close Name:Guest
Thu Mar 31, 2005 10:51 am Subject: korean cars? quality or cheap price?

maybe that is why I was never attracted to korean cars, cheap but no quality.


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