Hong Kong goes crazy for the iPhone
An analyst claims there's more chance of winning the lottery than getting an iPhone 5 in Hong Kong.
In a little over two weeks since its offical Hong Kong debut, the iPhone 5 has sold out, and stores have resorted to running a lottery to decide which lucky person gets their hands on the latest version of the smartphone. Potential owners order online and then come down to the store the next day to see if they've won.
"Based on our conversations, you might have a better shot at winning the lottery than getting the iPhone the next day," said Brian White, an analyst with Topeka Capital Markets who has been touring the area, in a memo published by Apple Insider.
The company first introduced a lottery system -- whereby those who ordered the handset online 24 hours in advance could collect up to two handsets at a designated Apple store the next day -- on September 24, two days after the handset went on sale, in order to prolong stock levels. But due to unprecedented demand, the system now reflects a state lottery, such are the odds of anyone actually getting their hands on a phone.
Apple has proven a massive hit in Hong Kong since opening its first retail store in the city's International Financial Center Mall in 2011. Two weeks ago the company opened its second store at Kowloon's Festival Walk and construction is well underway on a third at Causseway Bay's Hysan Place mall, which is expected to be open to the public in less than 12 months' time.
Meanwhile, Apple's growing fanbase in mainland China, where it currently has its five most successful brick-and-mortar retail stores, will have to wait until December when the iPhone 5 is officially launched on the China Unicom network.
In this year's Asia's Top Brands report Samsung took the top spot but Apple rose to second, with Sony third and Panasonic fourth.
