Bloomberg: David on the Chinese New Year iPhone Shortage

In an article covering Apple’s decision to shift its China iPhone sales to its online store only after incidents outside its five PRC stores, David told Bloomberg’s Ed Lococo:

“A large portion of Chinese New Year sales are about having the gifts in hand right now,” said David Wolf, chief executive officer of Wolf Group Asia, a Beijing-based consulting firm. “Android devices competitive with the iPhone will benefit.”

HTC Corp. (2498) and Motorola Mobility Holdings Inc. (MMI) also make iPhone-class devices that could win over buyers frustrated by Apple’s sales halt, Wolf said.

Related articles

• News: Motorola secures second patent win, forces Apple to halt online iPhone, iPad sales in Germany (ilounge.com)
• Mobile’s Biggest Market Getting iPhone 4S by Chinese New Year (mobilemarketingwatch.com)
• iPhone 4S sales resume online in China, shipments by March 2 (reviews.cnet.com)

David on Which Chinese Brands Will Make It Offshore First

Benjamin Shobert quotes David Wolf in “China’s Brands in the Shadows” in the Asia Times last month.

David’s point was that a brand making a leap into a foreign market must be relevant within the context of the target culture, and cannot assume that the relevance it  has built at home transfers to the new culture – even if the brand’s products fulfill the same “needs” in the target market. For that reason, B-to-B brands, like banks, steamship lines, insurance companies, advertising agencies, and upstream suppliers are in the best position to make the leap first because business cultures tend to share more commonality today than consumer cultures do.

Related articles

• Brands Add Value (siliconhutong.com)
• Had Enough Of ‘Made In China’? Get Ready For ‘Brands From China’ (forbes.com)

Obama, Gates, Zuckerberg mourn loss of Steve Jobs – USATODAY.com

Obama, Gates, Zuckerberg mourn loss of Steve Jobs – USATODAY.com.

David was quoted as one of the “luminaries” who mourned the death of Apple co-founder Steve Jobs in this USAToday roundup.

As phone prices drop in China, knockoffs lose appeal

As phone prices drop in China, knockoffs lose appeal.

David Pierson at McClatchy-Tribune quotes David in this article, where David notes that the halcyon days of knockoff and “shanzhai” mobile phones is coming to an end. The culprit: global leaders are still the only companies who can bring economies of scale to bear on the China market.

David on Apple in China

David is quoted in Christina Larson’s provocative new piece on Apple in China in Foreign Policy.

On the Advertising Restrictions

David is quoted in this National Public Radio (NPR) piece from Louisa Lim on Beijing’s plan to place severe restrictions on outdoor advertising for luxury products.

The point that I made to Louisa is that this is a fight not against luxury per se, but against ostentation. It is not the consumption of luxury that the Party is interested it: it is how conspicuous it has become, and how therein lies the roots of popular discontent.

If you’d prefer to listen to the story, the audio file is here.

US Panel May Block Huawei-3Leaf Deal, Report Says

David is quoted in this NPR/Marketplace story about Huawei’s  most recent challenges in the U.S. market. If you’d rather give it a listen, check here.

China’s Ad in Times Square

The Wall Street Journal’s China Realtime Report, Loretta Chao discusses China’s recent ad campaign in the U.S., and quotes David as being critical of the ad.

Some critics have panned the commercial for being out of touch with its American audience, presumed to be jittery over the China’s growing global influence. By flaunting all of China’s material accomplishments, says David Wolf, chief executive of marketing strategy firm Wolf Group Asia, the commercial was more scary than friendly. “With these ads, China probably hoped to open its arms to the American people,” he said. “Instead, without realizing as much, it gave them the finger.”

David’s more detailed – and nuanced – response to the issue is up on Silicon Hutong.

China as Factory Floor: The End of an Era

David is referenced and quoted in Janet Carmosky‘s article in Forbes recently, talking about the coming decline of China as a manufacturing economy.