Slashdot Mirror
iPhone Business Model Hits a Snag in France
Serhei writes "It seems like the iPhone might not be released in France by this holiday season, since French requires by law that all cell phones sold there must be obtainable in an unlocked version. Apple will not be able to do so, since it has launched with a 5-year exclusivity agreement with AT&T. That deal will probably require exclusivity worldwide to avoid grey-market imports. (In return for this agreement Apple receives a large share of AT&T's monthly revenues from iPhone subscribers.) If the iPhone falls through in France, the country can join Belgium and a potentially long list of other countries with unlocking laws, whose Apple fans will have to make do with other, less Apple-y phones. Note that there is currently no mention of the iPhone on the Apple France page."
How can I make my next product a "disaster" like that?
First, you want to be obligated to buy twice as many as you actually need. This doubles your production cost. Apple was in negotiations to cut production in half just a month after the launch.
Next, you want to be forced to drop the price of your product to sell what you are contractually obligated to buy.... Let's say from $599 down to $399. With a raw materials cost of $250 per unit, you can totally blow the other $150 on packaging, shipping, advertising, support, and your fixed development expenses. If you do it right, you might even be able to loose money on each unit sold.
Finally, you really want to piss off the handful of people that do buy your product so they'll never buy anything from you again. Make sure you do things to really anger the most enthusiastic fans you have. Illegally void their warrantees, "brick" their product with an update, that sort of thing.
There, that should do it. And if your company depends on the success of the product, all the better. That way, when the numbers hit Wall Street, your stock will plummet and the investors will demand your head on a plate and start filing lawsuits.
-fan