Apple celebrates the Chinese New Year by offering its fans in Asia one-day “Red Friday” deals, similar to the Black Friday sale it holds for customers in the United States. And the Cupertino company has today begun teasing the event via its online store with a big red advert that promises “great gifts for everyone on your list.”
What is it with Thailand, Apple and Buddhist temples lately? First, an abbott of the Wat Phra Dhammakaya said that Steve Jobs was kickin’ it in the afterlife as a mid-level angel with his own celestial palace. Now, a temple in Thailand’s Chom Phra district has decided that Buddha carries around an iPad with him wherever he goes.
Where is Steve Jobs right now? According to the abbot of a Buddhist temple in Thailand, Apple’s iconic co-founder has been re-incarnated as a mid-level angel currently residing in an ethereal six-storey building located not far from his Apple office in a parallel world. He is also a half-giant.
Apple continues its rollout of the new iPad in nine additional countries today, making the sought-after tablet available in 57 markets worldwide. This is now the fourth phase of rollouts since the device made its debut on March 16, but one of Apple’s key territories is still without it.
If you’re reading us from Asia, great news: the Asian continent’s own answer to Black Friday starts tomorrow, January 6th, and as rumored. Apple’s now having a Lunar New Year Sale to celebrate, offering discounts on most of their popular products in China, Hong Kong, Malaysia, Singapore, South Korea, Taiwan and Thailand.
The discounts are basically similar to those U.S. Apple Store customers saw in November, with discounts of between 6-8% on iPads, 10% discounts on iPods, and between 5-10% off all MacBooks.
If you’re in one of the aforementioned countries and want to start the New Year right, get hopping: this sale will only continue for 24 hours.
Apple’s a master of the supply chain, keeping just a couple days’ worth of inventory at stock any time under the mantra that any product in a warehouse is just costing the company money. The benefit of all of this is Apple is able to manage its supply chain with laser precision, deliver new products quickly and on-time without worrying about selling out existing inventory and save millions while doing so. But when something unexpected happens, Apple can find it doesn’t have enough inventory in stock to fulfill demand.
Apple’s just been hit by the rare downside to the way it handles its supply chain. The hard drive shortages caused by massive flooding in Thailand over the past few months have finally caught up with Apple, delaying built-to-order iMacs with two terabyte hard drives.
