Apple not only has a loyal customer base, but it’s apparently expanding that base thanks to its “Switchers” advertising campaign and new retail stores. And this means “a thriving local Mac market and healthy prosperity” for Hawaii’s handful of competing Apple service providers, according to a Hawaii Business article.
“I think the new OS X operating system [Mac OS X 10.2] is the primary reason people are switching over, but, whatever the reason, it’s all good for the Mac industry overall,” Rolf Nordahl, president of Honolulu-based MacMouse Club, says in the article.
MacMouse Club is one company on Oahu that services and sells Apple products. The current Mac buzz, combined with company’s move from Waikiki to downtown Honolulu last year, led to a 100 percent increase in sales, from approximately US$500,000 last year to just over $1 million this year, Hawaii Business reports.
In the article, Nordahl estimates market penetration for Apple in Hawaii to be slightly above the national average, at 5 percent to 8 percent, and growing. Currently, there are just two licensed distributors of Apple products in Hawaii: CompUSA and Mac Made Easy. Betty Markowski, president of Mac Made Easy, told Hawaii Business that the Nuuanu-based company services about 78 percent to 80 percent of Hawaii’s Mac market, and is expected to gross $3.7 million in sales this year, in comparison with last year’s $2.8 million.