????依靠低價(jià)在線銷售戰(zhàn)略而迅速崛起的小米公司，已躋身為全球第三大智能手機(jī)制造商。蘋果公司決定避其鋒芒，將重點(diǎn)轉(zhuǎn)向在中國開設(shè)線下實(shí)體店，以充分利用其在高端手機(jī)領(lǐng)域的優(yōu)勢(shì)。

????這家美國公司剛剛發(fā)布的財(cái)季業(yè)績(jī)，超出了華爾街的預(yù)測(cè)。iPhone在美國假日季的銷量再創(chuàng)新高，在中國的銷量更是飆漲了70%，這使得蘋果在該季度的盈利達(dá)到史上之最。

????一年前，批評(píng)者質(zhì)疑蘋果公司為何不推出更廉價(jià)的手機(jī)，以吸引注重價(jià)格的小米和三星用戶。借助在中國和巴西等新興市場(chǎng)的出色表現(xiàn)，蘋果有力地回?fù)袅诉@些質(zhì)疑。

????自媒體網(wǎng)站Stratechery.com的分析師本?湯普森表示：“長(zhǎng)期來看，小米對(duì)蘋果的威脅比三星等公司更大。但蘋果的競(jìng)爭(zhēng)策略是進(jìn)一步與小米區(qū)分開來，而不是試圖在小米主打的低價(jià)市場(chǎng)與其直接競(jìng)爭(zhēng)?！?/p>

????相反，蘋果計(jì)劃在2016年之前，在中國新增大約20家零售店。這些店面可能會(huì)設(shè)在繁華地段，與香奈兒和愛馬仕等奢侈品牌毗鄰而居。

????對(duì)蘋果而言，實(shí)體店能幫助公司維護(hù)從產(chǎn)品到店內(nèi)服務(wù)，甚至到包裝的高檔形象，從而可以定出比競(jìng)爭(zhēng)對(duì)手高得多的價(jià)格——這對(duì)蘋果獲得令人艷羨的利潤空間至關(guān)重要。

????24歲的史新超是江蘇省的一名公務(wù)員，他表示：“如果蘋果產(chǎn)品只能網(wǎng)購，用戶體驗(yàn)就不會(huì)像現(xiàn)在這樣，人們可能就不那么愿意買了。畢竟，這款產(chǎn)品太貴了。”

????接下來呢？

????蘋果這次季度業(yè)績(jī)的飛越，恐怕難以復(fù)制——他們推出了大屏iPhone，還在2013年底與電信運(yùn)營商中國移動(dòng)合作，才獲得了去年的碩果。

????調(diào)研公司Canalys中國區(qū)研究總監(jiān)尼科爾?彭表示：“人們翹首以盼大屏iPhone已經(jīng)很長(zhǎng)時(shí)間了。蘋果之前一直未能滿足這種不斷累積的需求。”

????Canalys的數(shù)據(jù)顯示，2014年10月至12月，蘋果在中國的出貨量超過了其他所有智能手機(jī)廠商，首次成為中國銷量最高的手機(jī)品牌。

????然而，一些觀察家已經(jīng)開始詢問，蘋果在中國迅速發(fā)展的下一個(gè)驅(qū)動(dòng)力是什么？它又將如何應(yīng)對(duì)來自小米的長(zhǎng)期挑戰(zhàn)？

????本月早些時(shí)候，小米推出Mi Note，以挑戰(zhàn)iPhone 6 Plus的市場(chǎng)地位。這款手機(jī)的16G版本僅售2299元，幾乎是后者的三分之一。

????這家中國公司從三年前才開始賣手機(jī)，而且也開始涉足其他個(gè)人和家居設(shè)備，這些設(shè)備將與小米手機(jī)兼容，這有助于它從而留住用戶。

????高德納研究公司分析師C. K. 盧表示：“這種策略可以幫助小米鎖定其用戶群體，避免他們改用蘋果等其他品牌，小米用戶大多是收入相對(duì)較低的年輕人?！?/p>

????“大屏幕給蘋果帶來核心競(jìng)爭(zhēng)力，但大屏幕之后是什么？這正是我們需要解決的問題。”（財(cái)富中文網(wǎng)）

????譯者：嚴(yán)匡正

????審校：任文科

????Apple AAPL 5.65% is steering clear of Chinese rival Xiaomi Inc’s low-price online strategy, ramping up store openings in China to harness its premium edge and fend off the fast-growing No.3 globalsmartphone maker.

????The U.S. firm’s quarterly results smashed Wall Street expectations with record iPhone sales in the holiday season and a 70% rise in China, powering the company to the largest profit in corporate history.

????Its result in China, as well as other emerging markets such as Brazil, marks a riposte to critics who questioned the firm’s strategy a year ago not to launch a cheaper phone to lure cost-conscious buyers from Xiaomi and Samsung SSNFL .

????“In the long run Xiaomi is more of a threat to Apple than say Samsung,” said Ben Thompson, analyst at Stratechery.com. “But the way Apple fights that is to further differentiate, not by trying to compete on Xiaomi’s turf, which is low cost.”

????Instead, Apple plans to roll out around 20 new China stores by 2016, likely located in glitzy locations and rubbing shoulders with outlets for luxury brands such as Chanel and Hermes HESAY -1.45% .

????For Apple, brick-and-mortar stores help it maintain a premium image, from the product to in-store service and even packaging, allowing the firm to charge far higher prices than rivals – vital to its enviable profit margins.

????“If you could only get an Apple product online, then there wouldn’t be the same user experience and so people might not be so willing to buy. After all, it’s an expensive product,” said Shi Xinchao, 24, a civil servant in Jiangsu province.

????WHAT’S NEXT?

????Apple’s quarterly leap may be hard to replicate, with the launch of large-screen iPhones and a tie-up with telecoms operator China Mobile in late 2013 lifting last year’s numbers.

????“People had been waiting for large-screen iPhones for a long time. The demand had piled up and Apple hadn’t been able to meet it,” said Nicole Peng, research director for Canalys in China.

????Canalys data showed Apple outsold all other smartphone makers in China by units shipped in October-December 2014, making it the country’s top seller for the first time.

????However, some were already asking what Apple’s next driver of growth in China would be and how the firm would fend off Xiaomi’s longer-term challenge.

????Xiaomi unveiled the Mi Note earlier this month, its challenger to Apple’s iPhone 6 Plus. At 2299 yuan ($371) for a model with 16 gigabytes of memory, the Mi Note costs almost two-thirds less than its Apple rival.

????The Chinese firm, which sold its first phone just over three years ago, has also been moving into other personal and home devices that would be compatible with Xiaomi phones, helping it retain users.

????“This could lock in Xiaomi’s younger generation, low-income users from migrating to other brands like Apple,” said Gartner analyst C.K. Lu.

????“The large screen has given Apple a big core, but what’s after the large screen? That’s what we need to address.”