Apple achieves record-high earnings, but iPhone sales decline in popular Japanese market!? Why? – OTONA LIFE

Apple seems to be doing very well. …but that doesn’t seem to apply to Japan. This seems to be due to the sudden depreciation of the yen, which is currently in the news. In July, Apple announced an iPhone price increase in Japan, and it is still fresh in our memory that carriers that handle iPhones have also raised prices one after another, but will price increases continue in the future?

This time, I would like to tell you about such achievements of Apple.

Apple financial results, record sales are also outside the mosquito net in Japan?

Only in Japan, sales have dropped significantly (image quoted from “Apple” official website (PDF))

On July 28, Apple announced its financial results for the third quarter (April-June) of 2022. Sales were 83 billion dollars, or about 11 trillion yen in Japanese yen (exchange rate as of August 1, 2022), which was the highest ever for Apple in the third quarter.

By region, the regions such as “America”, “Europe” and “Asia Pacific” increased from the previous year. On the other hand, it decreased in “Greater China” and “Japan”. In Japan in particular, sales have fallen significantly by more than 15% from 6.4 billion dollars in 2021 to 5.4 billion dollars.

The reason for the decrease in sales in Japan is probably due to the sudden depreciation of the yen. Even if the same number of units are traded at the same price as before in Japan, it is natural that the depreciation of the yen will result in a decline in performance when converted to dollars. The iPhone price hike in July can also be thought of as a way to make up for that.

How will users react to the iPhone price hike?

The price in Japan is less than half the highest price (according to “MM Research Institute”)

On the other hand, the price hike of the iPhone in July can be considered as “just bringing the price of the Japanese iPhone closer to the global standard”. In fact, it is clear from the data released by MM Research Institute in June that Japanese iPhones were cheap from a global perspective. For more information, please check this article.

It is possible that Apple was planning the timing to raise the price of the Japanese iPhone, but it was difficult to make a decision due to the Japanese people’s values ​​that “price increase = evil”. In that sense, the deterioration in earnings due to the weaker yen can be said to be an achievement of Apple’s injury.

However, in recent years, there are quite a few iPhone fans who are reluctant to raise the price of the iPhone. It is certain that there is a deep-rooted need for “I don’t need such high specs, so I want you to put it out at a reasonable price”, and it is precisely because of this tendency that the low-priced iPhone SE series is gaining popularity. deaf.

In addition, the market for used iPhones has recently expanded rapidly. There are also fans who say that it is better to buy a model that has been outdated for a few years at a reasonable price, rather than spending 100,000 yen to buy a new one.

The iPhone 14 (provisional name), which is expected to be released in September, is also expected to be more expensive than past models. I hope that Apple will not fall into a negative spiral of “price increase due to worsening business performance” → “lower sales volume due to price increase” “lower sales volume and worsening performance”.

Source: Apple Reports Third Quarter Results[Apple]
Source: Global iPhone sales price survey (June 2022)[ММ Research Institute Co., Ltd.]

* Thumbnail image (Image:SeeEye/Shutterstock.com)