Tuesday, November 13, 2007

China Mobile and Its 350 Million Subscribers

From a Silicon Valley Insider article:

“At the end of September, China Mobile had about 350 million subscribers -- more than 5 times the size of AT&T, Apple's U.S. carrier partner -- and almost 1.5 times the size of the entire U.S. wireless industry. With another 155 million subscribers on China Unicom, Apple's market opportunity in China is twice as big as it is in the U.S.

One company has a bigger subscription base than all of the US companies, combined.

That is a staggering number and gives China Mobile a big card to hold in negotiations. I always had the impression that luxury goods did not sell well in China, with it being a socialist society and all. But its recent move toward capitalism has given China has a growing thirst for luxury items. From a 2006 Boston Globe article:

“[China] is now the third-biggest consumer of luxury goods, accounting for 12 percent of sales worldwide, up from 1 percent just five years ago…”

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