Second weekend 4GB iPod nano sales strong
Despite earlier reports of mediocre demand for Apple's new iPod nano, sales of the 4GB model proved to be strong during the player's second weekend of availability at US retail stores.
In fact, sales of Apple's iPods and consumer Macs appear to be "solid" during the month of September even in the wake of higher fuel prices, says UBS Investment Research analyst Ben Reitzes.
In a research note released to clients on Monday, the analyst said his visits to retailers like CompUSA, as well as several Apple stores, indicates that the back to school season is going well for Apple due to strong demand for iBooks and iMacs. Further checks reveal that certain Apple stores actually ran out of iBook inventory in the middle of the back-to-school rush.
Commenting on iPod nano performance, Reitzes says,"While 2GB versions do not seem as popular, 4GB iPod nano sales appear to be off to a strong start as many Apple stores across the country struggle to keep devices in stock (especially black versions)."
However, the analyst notes he was able to find inventory of the 4GB iPod nano in BestBuy electronics stores before the weekend, indicating that customers are flocking to Apple retail stores first to make purchases. Independently, AppleInsider has received word that Apple this weekend was able to ship a significant number of nanos to Apple authorized retailers and online retail outlets such as Amazon.com.
Reports show that the company is shipping one black nano for every 3 white nanos and appears poised to catch up with demand over the next few weeks. Already Amazon is showing availability of both the 2GB iPod nano and 4GB iPod nano in white.
Still, Apple continues to express weakness in gauging demand for its new iPod accessories, which produce the company hefty profit margins. The iPod nano dock remains on backorder for 1-2 weeks, while both lanyard headphones and multi-colored nano tube cases are seeing wait times of 4 to 6 weeks.
According to Reitzes, discussions with Apple store managers indicated that the best seller in the iPod line prior to the launch of the nano had been the $199 4GB iPod Mini, with the slowest sellers being the 20GB and 60GB iPod, followed by the Shuffle.
"Managers attributed Shuffle weakness to customers looking for higher memory devices with a display," the analyst said. "We witnessed a clear increase in Shuffle inventory in a few of the stores we visited, with one store having a fairly large inventory on display (about 20 devices) vs. a noticeably smaller stock of Minis."
Even with the launch of the nano, Reitzes believes Apple will continue to sell stock of the iPod mini for another 3 to 4 weeks.
In fact, sales of Apple's iPods and consumer Macs appear to be "solid" during the month of September even in the wake of higher fuel prices, says UBS Investment Research analyst Ben Reitzes.
In a research note released to clients on Monday, the analyst said his visits to retailers like CompUSA, as well as several Apple stores, indicates that the back to school season is going well for Apple due to strong demand for iBooks and iMacs. Further checks reveal that certain Apple stores actually ran out of iBook inventory in the middle of the back-to-school rush.
Commenting on iPod nano performance, Reitzes says,"While 2GB versions do not seem as popular, 4GB iPod nano sales appear to be off to a strong start as many Apple stores across the country struggle to keep devices in stock (especially black versions)."
However, the analyst notes he was able to find inventory of the 4GB iPod nano in BestBuy electronics stores before the weekend, indicating that customers are flocking to Apple retail stores first to make purchases. Independently, AppleInsider has received word that Apple this weekend was able to ship a significant number of nanos to Apple authorized retailers and online retail outlets such as Amazon.com.
Reports show that the company is shipping one black nano for every 3 white nanos and appears poised to catch up with demand over the next few weeks. Already Amazon is showing availability of both the 2GB iPod nano and 4GB iPod nano in white.
Still, Apple continues to express weakness in gauging demand for its new iPod accessories, which produce the company hefty profit margins. The iPod nano dock remains on backorder for 1-2 weeks, while both lanyard headphones and multi-colored nano tube cases are seeing wait times of 4 to 6 weeks.
According to Reitzes, discussions with Apple store managers indicated that the best seller in the iPod line prior to the launch of the nano had been the $199 4GB iPod Mini, with the slowest sellers being the 20GB and 60GB iPod, followed by the Shuffle.
"Managers attributed Shuffle weakness to customers looking for higher memory devices with a display," the analyst said. "We witnessed a clear increase in Shuffle inventory in a few of the stores we visited, with one store having a fairly large inventory on display (about 20 devices) vs. a noticeably smaller stock of Minis."
Even with the launch of the nano, Reitzes believes Apple will continue to sell stock of the iPod mini for another 3 to 4 weeks.
Comments
Since they said that consumer cpu sales are strong, what's happening with the Mini and the eMac?
I see they are still on there web site.
Last time I was there it was missing. When I asked about it I was told, "You reeally want that thing? I think we only have returned ones now."
I hope they were just out beause of the back to school rush.
Originally posted by AquaMac
Is Best Buy still selling the Mac mini in its stores?
I see they are still on there web site.
Last time I was there it was missing. When I asked about it I was told, "You reeally want that thing? I think we only have returned ones now."
I hope they were just out beause of the back to school rush.
You know, sales people like that are a good example of why Apple has such problems selling its machine through 3rd parties. This is the reason they started their own chain. These guys are PC people and simply don't want to sell Macs.
"The only ones we have left are returns". That's the kind of line one would use to make it sound as though they are so bad that the few we had for sale came back because no one liked them.
Your last line could have been more correct. "We got a whole bunch in and they all sold out, though we got a couple back" could have been just as true.
Originally posted by xflare
So where did the story a few days ago about the nano not selling as well as exected come from? Do these "analysts" know what they're talking about? lol
Wu never knows what he's talking about. I haven't found him to be correct in the 18 months that I've first been hearing about him.
If you looked at the 2G white you would assume the nano was not selling well, while the 4G black cannot stay in stock.
Originally posted by TenoBell
Its likely Apple expected the 2G white nano to sell best and shipped more of those. But in reality the 4G Black nano sold the best.
If you looked at the 2G white you would assume the nano was not selling well, while the 4G black cannot stay in stock.
From the story it seems as though that's changed to one black for every three white.
Hey, you live in Brooklyn (my old stomping grounds). You should join our NY Mac user group.
http://www.metromac.org/
Originally posted by melgross
From the story it seems as though that's changed to one black for every three white.
Actually that is not how I interpret the line "Reports show that the company is shipping one black nano for every 3 white nanos". I interpret that to mean that Apple is currently out of sync with the demand ratio. But I could be wrong.
Originally posted by Chris Cuilla
Actually that is not how I interpret the line "Reports show that the company is shipping one black nano for every 3 white nanos". I interpret that to mean that Apple is currently out of sync with the demand ratio. But I could be wrong.
I don't think demand for blacks will continue to outpace whites. It may have been the case initially, but orders going into Apple's factories show that it may actually wind up shipping more whites in the long run.
But it is a bit early to tell for sure,
Kasper
Originally posted by Chris Cuilla
Actually that is not how I interpret the line "Reports show that the company is shipping one black nano for every 3 white nanos". I interpret that to mean that Apple is currently out of sync with the demand ratio. But I could be wrong.
First adopters tend to go against the flow more often than not. Usually they rush out so they can show it around and receive the accolades that they get for having it so quickly. Getting a black one will enhance that for them.
Originally posted by melgross
Hey, you live in Brooklyn (my old stomping grounds). You should join our NY Mac user group.
http://www.metromac.org/ [/B]
Sure that would be great.
I travel quite a bit though.
I spend much of the winter months in Los Angeles.
But sure I'll check it out.
Originally posted by TenoBell
Sure that would be great.
I travel quite a bit though.
I spend much of the winter months in Los Angeles.
But sure I'll check it out.
To tempt you a little more, we have over 800 members and meet in Apple's SoHo store.
On the other hand, to turn you off, I write a column for our newsletter.
Originally posted by melgross
On the other hand, to turn you off, I write a column for our newsletter.
LOL
I have no problem with that at all.
I thought that having our country's underlying racism revealed in the response to Hurricane Katrina would shock us, but I didn't expect a complete reversal!
Oh, well, we've had a pretty good run during the last 300 or so years. Anyhow, I was getting pretty tired of being "The Man."
Actually, I thought nano sales during the first weekend would be sluggish because no one thought they would be available! When Steve announced them, everyone thought, "OK, when will we get them? October?" and when he said, "Now." we all thought, "Where have I heard that before?"
I haven't seen one in person yet, but I think as more and more people do, the word-of-mouth (aka, "buzz") will spread and the nanophenomenon will be upon us.
Originally posted by macFanDave
Black more popular than white?!
I thought that having our country's underlying racism revealed in the response to Hurricane Katrina would shock us, but I didn't expect a complete reversal!
Oh, well, we've had a pretty good run during the last 300 or so years. Anyhow, I was getting pretty tired of being "The Man."
Actually, I thought nano sales during the first weekend would be sluggish because no one thought they would be available! When Steve announced them, everyone thought, "OK, when will we get them? October?" and when he said, "Now." we all thought, "Where have I heard that before?"
I haven't seen one in person yet, but I think as more and more people do, the word-of-mouth (aka, "buzz") will spread and the nanophenomenon will be upon us.
I first played with them on the 8th of September. We hold our Macuser group meets at the Apple Store in SoHo. I was working on getting the meet setup when our Apple rep came over and said they just came in. He handed me a black one and a white one. It really was a shock! Small, thin, and they feel heavier than the 1 1/2 ounces they weigh because of the small size. The screen is very good, and the wheel feels great in the small size - even better than the larger ones.
It made me think that if they shrunk the wheel on the full size models they could get a much larger screen in.
Originally posted by melgross
The screen is very good, and the wheel feels great in the small size - even better than the larger ones.
It made me think that if they shrunk the wheel on the full size models they could get a much larger screen in.
I agree completely, my first comment after playing with one was that the wheel is easier to use as the four buttons are always under your thumb; as opposed to the 4G iPods, where your thumb has to be on the outer edge of the wheel to press buttons - the small nano wheel makes sure your thumb doesn't stray from that area.
Good point on the screen, iPod mini introduced the click wheel to the main iPod range, I think iPod nano will introduce small click wheels to the main iPod range to enable a bigger screen (ie videos?)...