Beijing Apple store pelted with eggs

"Angry customers and organised gangs of touts threw eggs at Apple's store in Beijing after disturbances broke out when they were told that the shop would not open as planned for the first sales of the iPhone 4S. Police dragged some customers away while others threw eggs at the windows of the store in Beijing's fashionable Sanlitun district. Many of the customers were working for touts who try to buy up popular products en masse and sell them on at a profit.

The demand for the iPhone 4S has been incredible and our stores in China have already sold out," Apple said in a statement. "Unfortunately we were unable to open our store at Sanlitun due to the large crowd and to ensure the safety of our customers and employees the iPhone will not be available in our retail stores in Beijing and Shanghai for the time being," Apple said.

Apple's chief executive, Tim Cook, said earlier this month that "customer response to our products in China has been off the charts. With the launch in China … the iPhone 4S will be available in over 90 countries, making this our fastest iPhone rollout ever"


China is Apple's fastest growing market, accounting for one-sixth of the company's global sales. However, despite being manufactured in China, the latest version of the iPhone was only launched there on Friday.

It looks like consumerism and the Walmart "Black Friday" mentality of "storm troop" shopping is well established in China.

Thank god we're not the only ones who have idiots like that amidst us.

Aunt Spiker said:

Thank god we're not the only ones who have idiots like that amidst us.

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Exactly. I have a 5-10 threshhold of waiting in line for most anything... I could not imagine camping out in front of a store for days.

Aunt Spiker said:

Thank god we're not the only ones who have idiots like that amidst us.

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If it wasn't for American Technology companies like apple, half of China wouldn't have jobs. I mean who else would they rip off and copy or make cheap parts for?

...wasn't there a story awhile back about the Chinese working in Apple factories being suicidal because of the conditions under which they worked? But the country as a whole is still full of rabid fanboys. That'd be like the U.S. consumer learning that GM sacrifices one line worker everyday for good juju and running out to buy the next line of GMC pick-ups.

tessaesque said:

...wasn't there a story awhile back about the Chinese working in Apple factories being suicidal because of the conditions under which they worked? But the country as a whole is still full of rabid fanboys. That'd be like the U.S. consumer learning that GM sacrifices one line worker everyday for good juju and running out to buy the next line of GMC pick-ups.

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As well as dying and suffering ailments from exposure to chemicals and such.

Top Cat said:

If it wasn't for American Technology companies like apple, half of China wouldn't have jobs. I mean who else would they rip off and copy or make cheap parts for?

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There are even counterfeit Apple stores in China."Now, according to Chinese trade officials, 22 have been found unlawfully using Apple's brand and logo. The investigation into unauthorised Apple stores in Kunming was brought about when an American living in the city published a blog post describing a visit to one such shop. Describing it as a "beautiful rip-off", BirdAbroad revealed how far the owners had gone to copy the decor and ambience of a real Apple store.

Staff also wore the same colour T-shirts as real Apple staffers, and sported lanyards of the same design."

BBC News - Chinese authorities find 22 fake Apple stores



Staff in the original fake shop believed they were working in a real Apple store

tessaesque said:

...wasn't there a story awhile back about the Chinese working in Apple factories being suicidal because of the conditions under which they worked?

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yes, that was Foxconn.

Foxconn "solved" the problem by installing safety nets :

Foxconn Is Installing Safety Nets on Buildings?

i'm not an Apple fanboy or hater; i have an Ipod, and i have enjoyed it.

that being said, for as much as their products cost, Apple (via foxconn) could at least pay manufacturing workers enough so that they don't want to kill themselves.

Helix said:

yes, that was Foxconn.

Foxconn "solved" the problem by installing safety nets :

Foxconn Is Installing Safety Nets on Buildings?

i'm not an Apple fanboy or hater; i have an Ipod, and i have enjoyed it.

that being said, for as much as their products cost, Apple (via foxconn) could at least pay manufacturing workers enough so that they don't want to kill themselves.

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My opposition to Apple isn't entirely based on how it's manufacturers treat their employees, but it certainly doesn't help. I dislike Apple's marketing methods and most of their business structure. They're beautifully manipulative...almost to an impressive degree...but it makes me less enthusiastic about buying what they're selling. I, too, own an Ipod. It was given to me as a gift and I like it well enough, but it's 5 generations old and I see no reason to "upgrade".

tessaesque said:

My opposition to Apple isn't entirely based on how it's manufacturers treat their employees, but it certainly doesn't help. I dislike Apple's marketing methods and most of their business structure. They're beautifully manipulative...almost to an impressive degree...but it makes me less enthusiastic about buying what they're selling. I, too, own an Ipod. It was given to me as a gift and I like it well enough, but it's 5 generations old and I see no reason to "upgrade".

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I agree. They purposely cultivate the "fanboy" mentality that leads to exactly the kind of thing in the OP.

Loving the Samsung ads which make fun of the fanboys:

Samsung galaxy S2 ad pokes fun at Apple.mp4 - YouTube

same here. got mine as a gift. price on the unit was past what i would have paid for an mp3 player.

i would pay hundreds for one if it were built here in the states, though. or even if it were built overseas under good working conditions. but $130 plus for an mp3 player built where workers kill themselves because it sucks so much to work there? no way.

they still did a great job building the unit, though; very few problems. i hope that they get a raise somehow.

Connery said:

It looks like consumerism and the Walmart "Black Friday" mentality of "storm troop" shopping is well established in China.

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Oh please. You would be pissed off if you waited in line for many hours in the cold only to be told they would not open the doors at all.

Fiddytree said:

Oh please. You would be pissed off if you waited in line for many hours only to be told they sold out of the units *before* the store opened.

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Sure I would, who wouldn't be pissed, but, I would not act like an animal. I be cooking my eggs rather than throw them...:lamo

I had to correct myself. The units were not sold out from the store itself. I thought I read that last night before I crashed.

Helix said:

yes, that was Foxconn.

Foxconn "solved" the problem by installing safety nets :

Foxconn Is Installing Safety Nets on Buildings?

i'm not an Apple fanboy or hater; i have an Ipod, and i have enjoyed it.

that being said, for as much as their products cost, Apple (via foxconn) could at least pay manufacturing workers enough so that they don't want to kill themselves.

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They also raised pay by 30%. Foxconn raising pay following rash of suicides | Apple - CNET News

OTOH, that's 30% on $120/month. :roll:

AdamT said:

They also raised pay by 30%. Foxconn raising pay following rash of suicides | Apple - CNET News

OTOH, that's 30% on $120/month. :roll:

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not vastly different from the lousy conditions in America during the industrial revolution, when you think about it.

looks like they are in need of a real union.

unfortunately, their communist party will probably never let one take hold.

An Independent Labor Movement Stirs in China - NYTimes.com

Connery said:

"Angry customers and organised gangs of touts threw eggs at Apple's store in Beijing after disturbances broke out when they were told that the shop would not open as planned for the first sales of the iPhone 4S. Police dragged some customers away while others threw eggs at the windows of the store in Beijing's fashionable Sanlitun district. Many of the customers were working for touts who try to buy up popular products en masse and sell them on at a profit.

The demand for the iPhone 4S has been incredible and our stores in China have already sold out," Apple said in a statement. "Unfortunately we were unable to open our store at Sanlitun due to the large crowd and to ensure the safety of our customers and employees the iPhone will not be available in our retail stores in Beijing and Shanghai for the time being," Apple said.

Apple's chief executive, Tim Cook, said earlier this month that "customer response to our products in China has been off the charts. With the launch in China … the iPhone 4S will be available in over 90 countries, making this our fastest iPhone rollout ever"


China is Apple's fastest growing market, accounting for one-sixth of the company's global sales. However, despite being manufactured in China, the latest version of the iPhone was only launched there on Friday.

It looks like consumerism and the Walmart "Black Friday" mentality of "storm troop" shopping is well established in China.

Click to expand...

This is a PR nightmare for Apple. Not only does their own statements not hold truth and people are realising this, but the pictures of angry cold Chinese throwing eggs and shouting at an Apple store is a nightmare, on top of the bad pr about the kid who sold a kidney for an iPad and the mass deaths at Foxconn plants and of course their failed Brazil plants, flawed products and .. yes they still have not fixed the battery problem on the 4s.

As for their statement.. When you launch a product you make sure that you have enough to meet the demand. They claim they knew that demand was going to be big... as they always claim (despite Apple being a minor player on the Chinese market.. about 6% marketshare) and yet their excuse was security issues and lack of products?

First off... since when has a large amount of people waiting for an Apple product been a "security issue"? It has been their main PR selling point for 5 years..They bribe media outlets with free products to get them to report 24-7 from such launches, and suddenly it is a problem? And I got to love how even the OP article uses Apple propaganda.. "Apple's fastest growing market".. yea but they are still behind Windows Phone, and way behind Android and Symbian..

Secondly... lack of products.. wait a minute, are you saying that your logistics department is so pathetic that in the country that makes the damn product, you cant provide enough of them? Or maybe it is because the amount of people would expose your marketing ploy of claiming massive demand.. "the we sold out" excuse is exactly because you hold products back to create this "massive demand" excuse?

I think Apple employees realized that they were not given enough phones to meet the demand, and were afraid of a riot when the first 50 only got phones and the rest were told to go home...so they make up lame excuses to deflect attention away from pathetic planning. Having hundreds of fanboys waiting in the freezing cold over night if not day... for nothing, would piss off anyone.

Apple has really gone down hill since Steve Jobs got sick and died.. their oh so mysterious thing coming in a few weeks better be something spectacular... although I doubt it.

Next thing coming out of China.. the ban of the iPad.. since Apple dont own the name in China and are breaking Chinese law by selling it under that name...

Connery said:

Sure I would, who wouldn't be pissed, but, I would not act like an animal. I be cooking my eggs rather than throw them...:lamo

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In the US, the eggs would have been rocks, at least.

Manc Skipper said:

In the US, the eggs would have been rocks, at least.

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or grenades and bullets.

Yeah. Like either of you would have any idea. :roll:

... where did they get the eggs? Do they normally carry around eggs in case they need to hurl them about?

Deuce said:

... where did they get the eggs? Do they normally carry around eggs in case they need to hurl them about?

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Readily available nearly everywhere... could have gotten them at a nearby traditional market... and throwing eggs in this part of the world is like throwing shoes in Iraq...

Harshaw said:

Yeah. Like either of you would have any idea. :roll:

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It's amazing how ignorant some foreigners are about Americans. Their conclusions are typically delusional.

American said:

It's amazing how ignorant some foreigners are about Americans. Their conclusions are typically delusional.

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The reverse is also true.

Manc Skipper said:

In the US, the eggs would have been rocks, at least.

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PeteEU said:

or grenades and bullets.

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Gentlemen no one country is without their occurrences. Here are a couple pictures of the Tottenham a section of London. It is my understanding that the UK asked the US for assistance in this and related matters.


Fire rages through a building in Tottenham, north London on Aug. 7, 2011. A demonstration against the death of a local man turned violent and cars and shops were set ablaze.

Fiery wooden planks that were used as spears against police.


Like I said my choice is to have my eggs cooked not thrown.