Apple's US focus hurting profits, Mac sales?

Apple’s “apparent lack of interest in international markets” is costing the company “droves” of customers in Australia, Japan and Europe, according to an Australian IT News article.

Mac unit shipments for the recent quarter were 734,000, a sequential quarterly drop of 9 percent and a 14 percent drop from the same quarter a year ago. Australian IT News describes Apple as a company “going backwards,” partially due to is concentration on the US while ignoring other markets. The article lists a variety of ways in which Apple ignores its non-US customers:

Apple retail stores are opening only in the United States.

iPhoto users can order professionally processed Kodak prints, enlargements, and bound coffee-table books of their digital pictures only in the US.

Many of Sherlock 3’s services (movie and restaurant guides, for instance) are localized for US markets.

iCal lists rock concerts, movie and TV premieres, etc., only for a US audience.

Apple is giving Mac OS X 10.2 (“Jaguar”) for free to teachers in the US.

Australian IT News said the United States-centric focus is affecting the bottom line. In its latest quarterly report, Apple noted that its international sales accounted for 35 percent of revenues whereas in the fourth quarter of 2000 some 44 per cent of sales were in international markets, the article adds.