Apple changes distribution policy in ČR

Product prices will decrease as a result, a distributor says


AT Computers became the second official Apple distributor Sept. 27 after winning a yearlong bidding
process. Before, the sole distributor was Apcom.


Prices on Apple products are infamously much higher in the Czech Republic - a 13-inch MacBook Pro
with a 2.4 GHz processor costs $1,199 (21,246 Kč) on the U.S. Apple Store website, and used to cost
around 32,028 Kč in the Czech Republic. The listed price now on AT Computers' website is 27,995 Kč.
Currently, it is estimated that there are between 100,000 and 150,000 users of Apple computers in
the Czech Republic, Lér said.


"It's still a new situation for us, and we don't know 100 percent what we're walking into," said
Petr Kubečka, a salesperson at 24U, a computer store authorized to sell Apple products. He said
price reductions at his store started at the beginning of October, because of the change in policy,
and have been most evident in student deals.


The reduction in prices would provide relief to companies that depend on Apple products to provide
services like graphic design. Andrew Sligar, director of client services and strategy at Firefly,
said the greater accessibility of Mac technology to smaller design companies would allow for
greater cooperation.