In an attempt to build on the early success of the Apple Watch, the Cupertino based-company is in the process of making the precise timepiece available outside of its own physical and digital stores. As part of a strategic retailing partnership, Best Buy, one of the largest physical and online retailers in the United States, will start to ship the Apple Watch this coming August with availability in over 100 stores.
In an effort to market the Apple Watch, and also get it in front of as many interested consumers as possible, Best Buy will start stocking the aluminum Apple Watch Sport model as well as the stainless steel Apple Watch as of August 7th. The Apple-Best Buy-partnership deal will also see the number of stores stocking Apple’s “most personal product yet” rise to 300 outlets in time for the extremely busy and lucrative holiday shopping season.
It’s perhaps unsurprising that Best Buy, and any other retailer going forward, will not be stocking the top of the range $10,000+ Apple Watch Edition model. Cupertino wants to keep exclusivity on that particular model, at least for now. Tim Cook’s company has already gone through the process of selling the Apple Watch in carefully selected outlets around the world, but it seems as though partnerships with prominent retail outlets are about to be stepped up.
It’ll be extremely interesting to see how such partnerships will fuel adoption of the Apple Watch and how it actually effects the gadget’s sales figures. For one reason or another Apple has chosen to keep the initial number of Apple Watches sold under the wraps, though we can deduce from its most recent earnings call that the wrist watch has amassed approximately $1 billion in revenue since launch. Offering the watch in various successful stores throughout the world will inevitably get the product in front of more faces and should massively increase adoption.
As part of an Apple Watch centric interview with The Wall Street Journal, Apple CEO Tim Cook noted that his company sees the product as being one of the “key, top holiday gifts”, and that Apple wants to have it in more places than it currently does. It seems that the plan has already been set in motion to make that happen. I for one am hoping that it’s one of the first gifts under my tree this coming festive season.
(Source: WSJ)
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