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Several electronics vendors announced discounts on iPhone
devices this week, following mass discounts in January just
before Apple reported sinking sales in China.
Gadget retailer Suning.Com Co Ltd said it would slash the price
of the iPhone XS by as much as 1,000 yuan ($148.95) from its
official price. Suning had lowered the prices of other iPhone
models in January along with other retailers, but those cuts
excluded the iPhone XS.
Pinduoduo Inc, an e-commerce site best known for selling
inexpensive goods, has also said it would sell the 64GB edition
of the iPhone XS for 6,999 yuan, a drop of over 1,000 yuan from
the official price.
Online retail giant JD.com Inc said it would offer discounts on
a range of Apple products including the iPhone XS and XS Max,
with models of the latter device selling at discounts of up to
1,700 yuan. Like Suning, JD.com initially did not discount the
iPhone XS upon its first major round of discounts in January.
Apple, JD.com and Pinduoduo did not respond to requests for
comment, while Suning could not be reached.
Apple's sales from China declined 20 percent year-on-year,
according to its most recent earnings report. Slowing demand for
smartphones and increased competition from local brands have
chipped at its dominance in the country.
The U.S. company has yet to change the official sticker prices
of its devices that it lists on its Chinese website. Yet the
company has partnered with Ant Financial, the finance arm of
Alibaba Group Holding Ltd, and several state-owned banks to let
consumers purchase iPhones via interest-free loans.
(Reporting by Josh Horwitz; Editing by Stephen Coates)
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