Sales were suspended at Apple stores in Beijing and Shanghai early yesterday after scuffles broke out among thousands of shoppers waiting outside its flagship store in Beijing for the mainland launch of the iPhone 4S.
The decision was made after a large crowd queued overnight in freezing temperatures for the release of the phone in Sanlitun. Staff abandoned plans to sell the phone at around 5am, two hours before the store was due to open, after chaotic scenes and scuffles between groups who appeared to be scalpers.
'The demand for iPhone 4S has been incredible and our stores in China have already sold out,' Apple said in a statement.
'Unfortunately we were unable to open our store at Sanlitun due to the large crowd, and to ensure the safety of our customers and employees, the iPhone will not be available in our retail stores in Beijing and Shanghai for the time being.'
Customers can still order the iPhone 4S through the Apple Online Store, or buy it at China Unicom and other authorised resellers.
People who bought the phone at China Unicom stores yesterday said supplies appeared to be sufficient.
A large crowd began to gather on Thursday night at a small square outside the Apple store in the capital's trendy Sanlitun area - one of two stores in Beijing - and quickly grew into the thousands, one shopper, Ba Mi, said. He had joined the queue at around 11pm with two colleagues to buy his girlfriend an iPhone 4S.