Chinese line up overnight for Apple’s promotion campaign

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Massive numbers of China's Apple fans lined up overnight to snatch up an iPhone or Mac and got a pair of headphones for free for Friday’s Apple China promotion campaign.

People lined up at a n Apple store in Shanghai on Friday morning. /CFP Photo

The campaign was reportedly considered to be the strongest promotion of the Apple brand in China, where anyone who bought an iPhone or Mac was able to get a pair of 2,288-yuan (around 330-US dollar) Beats Solo 3 Wireless headphones free of charge.

iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus /CFP Photo

People had lined up in front of Apple stores around the country since midnight and expected a shopping spree, but the Apple China did not realize consumers’ desires after writing the slogan, “May your dream come true in the new year.”

Stores in many cities, like Beijing and Shanghai, told Apple fans that most of their products in the campaign had been ordered online. However, a lot of people who had sit up overnight did not know that they had to make a reservation online or was only permitted to purchase two items.

People in Hangzhou, Zhejiang Province wait at a local Apple store. /CFP Photo

Having bought one of the campaign products, a woman in Shanghai cried when she was told she could not get the free headphones because she had not made a reservation on the Apple China official website, reported thepaper.com.

A store in east Nanjing Road in Shanghai announced they hit their quota as the store opened up for business.

People waited in line at an Apple store in Shanghai on Friday morning. /CFP Photo

“Around 7:00 am, people lined up at the backdoor and got the free headphones. Some of them even bought ten,” Mr. Hou, a local who had waited for hours, told thepaper.com and added, “I guess they are scalpers.”

Business at Xidan’s Apple store in Beijing even had to be suspended at one time. According to the Beijing Morning Post, the promotion had caused crowds of people to gather there and the Apple did not submit any application for the campaign due to safety reasons.

An Apple store in Xidan, Beijing /Photo: Beijing Morning Post

According to thepeper.com, people from the IT industry speculated that the great sales were intended to re-shape the brand image of Apple after its iPhone 6's battery deficiency.‍

Nikkei, a Japanese media corporation in economics, reported that Apple Inc. will trim iPhone production by 10% in the first quarter of this year, depending on its data from suppliers.