Now look whatchya done, Putin: Apple Halts Online Sales In Russia As The Ruble Collapses

It sounds crazy to shut an online store of popular gadgets right before Christmas, but a plummeting currency has forced Apple to do just that in Russia. The company, which has no physical stores in the country and relies primarily on its site, carriers or third-party sellers, has stopped users from buying products on the Russian version of its website.

Now look whatchya done, Putin: Apple Halts Online Sales In Russia As The Ruble Collapses Apple-Russian-site-e1418819277584

Now look whatchya done, Putin: Apple Halts Online Sales In Russia As The Ruble Collapses Apple-Russian-site-e1418819277584

Now look whatchya done, Putin: Apple Halts Online Sales In Russia As The Ruble Collapses RphBWW

Anyone who tries to buy a product like the iPad 2 on the site is met with a white page saying “We’ll be back. We’re busy updating the Apple Store for you and will be back soon.”

Russia’s currency has dropped by more than 20% this week, even after the country’s central bank raised interest rates to 17% in a bid to stem the decline. Wednesday alone the rule is down 5%, to 71 rubles against the dollar. The currency is falling because of the falling price of oil and Western sanctions over Russia’s military actions in Crimea.

Recent concerns that the U.S. was considering a new wave of sanctions over Russia’s support for Ukrainian separatists are thought to have sparked the ruble’s slide this week.

Currency fluctuations can have a major impact on an international company’s profits. For the last few weeks, Apple’s earnings in Russian rubles have been a risk of falling significantly when turned back into dollars.

Apple had held back from raising its prices in Russia to offset the drop, up until November 26, when it raised the price of the iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus by 25%. Yet even after raising the price of the iPhone 6 to 39,990 rubles, the value of the sale to Apple in dollar terms had dropped from $847 to $585.

The falling ruble is a major headache for Russian consumers, who are dealing with prices going up as much as 20% for everything from food to cars to McDonalds take-out. Samsung also raised recommended retail prices of its devices in Russia to try and recoup lost earnings.

For Apple, the financial panic hurting Russia won’t have a major impact on its overall earnings but it certainly hurts prospects in a fast-growing market. Apple sold 1.57 million iPhones in Russia in 2013, double what it sold there in 2012, according to market research company IDC, as more local telcos jumped on board to sell the phone.

http://www.forbes.com/sites/chuckjones/2014/12/04/apples-iphone-6-international-prices-are-higher-than-the-us/
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Anarcho-Capitalist, AnCaps Forum, Ancapolis, OZschwitz Contraband
“The state calls its own violence law, but that of the individual, crime.”-- Max Stirner
"Remember: Evil exists because good men don't kill the government officials committing it." -- Kurt Hofmann

Now look whatchya done, Putin: Apple Halts Online Sales In Russia As The Ruble Collapses

Now look whatchya done, Putin: Apple Halts Online Sales In Russia As The Ruble Collapses

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