Apple had several Chinese merchants remove the iPad 2 from their websites, including Amazon’s Chinese storefront, as these merchants were not authorized to sell the iPad. This move is unrelated to the ongoing trademark dispute over the iPad name that has caused other, physical, merchants to remove the device from shelves.
The Wall Street Journal reported that several online storefronts were offering the iPad 2 for sale without authorization. While Amazon.com is the most recognizable name to a Western audience, several other sites were involved including Jingdong’s 360buy.com site, which accounted for 13.3% of Apple’s net sales in the Asia-Pacific region.
While cooperation from the online merchants in removing the iPads for sale was a significant move, it’s unlikely to damage sales in China by much since the devices are still available from physical stores and resellers that are actually authorized.
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