Wal-Mart's new Apple section seen as precursor to Mac sales - Page 2

Perhaps it's location and maybe not...I'm in Oklahoma and Wal-Mart and Target are nowhere like each other here. You are right that they sell the much of the same items, but...it's how one walks into a Wal-Mart Supercenter and it just give ya the creeps! I'm no better than the next guy but it kills me that Apple would go in this direction. Man, what hornets nest I've busted open. Thanks for the educated reply. One can always learn from another!

Scott

Old timers will remember that Walmart has sold Macs of various flavors several times before. And keep in mind the Waltons are huge Mac fans, so this is possible to do again... but hopefully correctly this time.

I say... Mac mini with keyboard and mouse in the box for $589... 20" iMac with keyboard and mouse for $989, entry level MacBook for $989.

Buy out the Zune displays which have never sold well, and put it right next to the iPod and iPhone displays.

Show a working iMac under a tight plastic shield, a working MacBook... and then show the Mac mini with huge words, "Choose any Monitor or TV".

That's a recipe that would work.

When buying from Walmart, nobody expects deep knowledge on the products, they just want the lowest price. That's why the wealthy shop there even though most don't realize it...

Yes. Years ago Macs were sold in a lot of stores. Poor customer service, busted computers, and little to no sales effort led to Apple opening its own stores. Very few retailers--Micro Center comes to mind--do a good job of hiring Mac-specific sales staff and those stores do a good job selling Macs. Best Buy was awful before, and the customer service doesn't seem much better now, but, at least it looks good, and I saw Macs coming out of the store the 2 times I visited.

Wal-mart does not bode well--unless they do a Wii-styled display [look, don't touch].

It doesn't make a lot of sense to sell Macs at urban Wal-Marts, but a lot of small towns have nothing but a Wal-Mart to shop at, so Apple could use this to reach people that are currently unable to see a Mac in person (without driving 100+ miles). There are a lot of small towns in America.

About as much as your idiotic rant on Netbooks when we're trying to discus WalMArt.

Image is everything, but a sale is a sale is a sale.

Repeat that, as your image errodes.

What percentage of Americans live in rural areas? According to the 2006 census, 80% of Canadians live in urban areas. I'm not sure if the demographic spread is similar in the U.S.

I live in Arkansas after moving down here from MN. I went to school at Arkansas State University and to continue my studies I had to take a computer intro class. When I went to the instructor to talk to him about computer requirements, Dr. Steve, told me that I had better just get used to the fact that this is "Windows-Land." Needless to say I was able to complete the course work with my "little ole Mac".... Much to his surprise. Even though I don't like WalMart all that much, it's nice to see the Mac moving into THIS foreign country!

Still doesn't change the fact netbooks are junk.

Well the article mentions netbooks, why don't you try reading it again dummy.

I'm sorry, you didn't mention crackheads or rednecks in your post. Therefore it must be ignored.

Less than it was.

Are these the same people who don't know how to spell "owening"(sic), properly punctuate or capitalize?

You don't know this for a fact. It's just a supposition.

If they have the store within a store done correctly, then it will work. Even though some people are disparaging Best Buy's Mac sales, i've been to a few and it looks fine. And as the article states, BB's sales have helped Apples' numbers.

Some people forget that when Apple was selling through the Wiz, Sears, and others, Apple wasn't the powerhouse it is today, and didn't have the brand recognition, nor the desirability.

The situation is very different today.

You make some good points dude .
May I add to all the people above me here who are talking about sacred apple image or low class>>> ARE YOU PEOPLE ******** !!!!!!

FIRST OFF apple makes metal and plastic boxes
urn feeling dead machines , do you fear that your sister will have sex with a red neck ???
apple will make sure there machines are displayed correctly

second ... who*******>>> in many places wall mart is the only store around and many people of wealth and class shop there .
AND even low income people are still people .And they still can afford $1500 for a laptop .

third are you guys ******* . to get mac 's and apple stuff in 2500 more stores and and on the walmart website is priceless . how stupid can you be . the poor treatment at some best buys sucks but apple is still getting exposure and apple machines still look better than dell face to face

4th people are first going online to research
and the they see what there friends have and then many consult their family members
THIS IS DONE BEFORE they show up at the ritz carlton to buy their mac .
Duh !!People are much smarter these days .

5>>> you guys are a bunch of window loving crybabies who spend all day at apple sites red faced with green envy .

i welcome wall mart
costco and sams club s next

EDIT:

Watch your language please.

Not that this means they are poor but...

"The average household income of Wal-Mart shoppers is around $35,000 to $40,000, compared with $55,000 to $60,000 for those at rival Target Corp., Edwards said"

From MSNBC... http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/15626611/

Average Apple consumers... not sure these days but historically, they were always significantly above average income/education level - well you'd have to be to afford one

This could be a good move to expand the franchise - most WM shoppers probably don't live near to an Apple store and might not want to go to one if they did - get them hooked on a Mac Mini or WhiteBook at their main store? An Arkansan's money is as good as anyone else's.

wow, you haven't been to one in 8 years (yeah, right) but you proclaim the stores are "redneck central"? How would you know? When I go the vast majority of customers are black, asian and hispanic, are they rednecks? Redneck is just a covertly racist/elitist way to say poor people and it doesn't have any business being spouted on this board.

You may not be a fan of the way WalMart does business but if that's the case say that instead of throwing a racist term out there to try to make yourself feel better that you don't have to watch every dollar when you shop.

I guess you didn't read all the way through my post.

Yes, "if" they do it correctly, but this means a change in the way Wal-Mart retails. And it's a big "if." Assuming this will happen is what I would call a supposition.

I'd also reiterate another point I made earlier about how difficult it is to imagine Apple becoming the powerhouse brand it is today if they hadn't taken charge of their retail image. That's no small point, I should have thought.

my Dell mini 9 with a runcore 32 gb ssd and 2gb of RAM runs leopard faster than my core 2 duo Macbook I bought a year and a half ago, it's the Macbook whose disc drive groans like a cat in heat and that doesn't recharge the battery anymore, and whose plastic border around the screen at the bottom is starting to pop off. If anything is junk it's my Macbook.

so yeah, that changes the fact, netbooks aren't junk...unless Apple makes one and says it's different, revolutionary, will change the way you look at portable computing etc, then minimacbooks, or whatever they'll call it, will suddenly be cool to you.

I did read your entire post. I saw the "if". But the tone of the entire post was negative.

There was a lot of screaming here about how bad BB was too, at first, though as we can see there are still an isolated few.

I would think that if Apple and Wal-Mart are thinking of this, then it wouldn't be done willy nilly. Apple is no longer the beggar on the block. If Wal-Mart went to Apple, rather than the other way around, as it seems, then Apple is in the position of setting much, if not all of the parameters of the deal.

Even though word is that iPhone sales are not up to what was hoped, it couldn't be far behind either, or this wouldn't be happening, assuming it is of course.

Wal-Mart could be looking to Apple to give them credibility in their new endeavors. If that's so, then you can bet that they would want this to be a success.

I'm not saying that yours is a knee-jerk reaction, but we see a lot of that here. Not very well thought out exclamations of frustration with the "lowering" of Apple's image. I try not to be so elitist about it. It's just a product line. It's not a way of life.

I can just imagine folks buying a $2000 laptop along with a couple quarts of motor oil, and bag of Cheetos.

Well, most netbooks aren't so wonderful. Many have been returned because they, in fact, can't run many programs, play video, play games, etc.

They will get better with time as everything does, but they're not there yet. Except for yours of course.

If Apple does come out with something, it might be different enough to be significant. But first, they have to come out with something. Until they do, there's no point in speculating.

Thanks for the back up! I know you might not take sides and can see it from another perspective, which is great by the way, but income and all will have an effect as to where one will shop. I don't see Apple making a big splash in venturing with Wal-Mart. Just so creepy thinking that a Mac could be sold in a Wal-Mart! Dang it!!!!

The Best Buy and Futureshop stores that I've been too usually have an apple rep at the Mac Kiosk/display. The regular store employees defer to the Apple reps when discussing Mac hardware.

Does the Macbook have a 30 percent return rate?

Please don't say that.

You're insulting the intelligence of ten year olds.

Forget the "tone" which you infer, and just respond to what I've actually written. Deal?

What I am saying here is that Wal-Mart has a certain formula for their business, one which been extremely successful for them. So does Apple -- and they are very different formulas. Can they be bridged? Maybe. I don't know. For now I am a skeptic.

What you said here is about what you said in your earlier post, and that's what I responded to. Understand?

Not really. I'm simply asking you to respond to what I've actually said, instead of imposing your own inferences on it. Ironically we probably agree on the generalities of this discussion, so I don't see any cause for you to lump me in with the hotheads and the knee-jerks. I am skeptical for specific, stated reasons. I think it should be permissible to state those reasons without being called "entirely negative."

I doubt whether some postiers here are capable of rational thinking. Do you even know statistics? Are all of you earning salaries above $40k then?

There are people who would buy a Mac even if they are students, in fact, the winnner of the one billion App Store contest was just a kid who was earning more than likely less than two tho usand dollars a year -- but bought an alumimun Macbook. His Mother does not sound rich, either.

Do some of you equate not so rich, or poor people with rednecks? If you do, then you are the either arrogant or stupid. Grow up.

There are rich people and intelligent people even in what you call redneck towns in the United States and other places in the world. Moreover, even "redneck" and poor families can have children who may be more intelligent than many of you here. That is the essence of "genetics", if you do not not have a background in science, or happened to have slept in your science class.

Both the aforementioned groups of individuals could be potential buyers of Apple products, but would never have a chance to be exposed to Apple products because there is no Apple store near them.

Guess what they will grow up with, or what they are forced to buy, in terms of computers? Guess what computers they are likely to use, even if they will become rich or richer than you can ever imagine?

I live in Boston right now, and for the most part that I have lived in the US. However, I lived also in other places, including a place in the South that some people like you here would most likely ask automatically and condescedingly: "Where the hell is that?"

Without a doubt, in this small place in the South, I can claim some of the people I have known there are more rich, and some more educated (or some may even be more intelligent) than some of you will ever be. More than likely, they might have better sense of aesthetic than some of you can ever aspire for. And, yes, in that small city in the South, quite a few people are driving Lexus, and BMW, as well as other high end cars, some own boats, as well as live in gated and exclusive communities. And yet, because of its size, like many small cities and towns in the US or abroad, will never likely be places where Apple will setup a store.

And yes, many of them shops at Waltmart or Walmart owned outlets, like many of the poor people and what you call rednecks. Why? For any number of reasons: Accessibility. Value. Or, it is the only game in town.

Will the presence of Apple products in Walmart increase awareness about Apple and its products? A resounding Yes. It is the only way, apart from advertising, that Apple could ever reach places (and actual people) in the US and abroad where Apple will never ever be.

Will it depreciate the brand of Apple by being sold at Walmart? Maybe, maybe not. It depends on kind of products Apple continue to sell and how it markets and present them. It depends also on how it will relate with Walmart. As pointed out by some posters here who have lived in small towns and cities, it will make a difference to them, because there is no Apple store around.

How many of you in the past posted here that it will be the "end of the world" for Apple if:

• It moved to Intel?
• If it started selling its products at Best Buy stores?
• If Apple did this or that, that you did not like?
• etc.

It is good Apple does not listen to many of the posters here. To be blunt, I am more afraid of the future of Apple, if indeed some of the posters here represent the "average" Apple user.

You sir are an idiot, I happen to reside in one of the most expensive states to live in the country. There are few Walmart's here due to our size and we were the last state in the country to have one. Many of us fought tooth and nail to keep them out and were ultimately unsuccessful. That being said, since the loss of our Ames retailer some years ago and the lack of a Target in the state Walmart has provided a greatly needed source for everyday household needs.

An additional Mac presence would also be welcome considering we have no Apple Store. While we are fortunate enough to be the birthplace of Small Dog Electronics, they do not cover the entire state. Apple computers were supposed to be the "computer for the rest of us" not "computer for the rich, arrogant,and prejudiced." I for one believe Apple has largely failed in providing access to its products across socioeconomic classes. Something forgivable when the company was doing all it could to survive in the 90's. Today this is hardly the case and the company should and could do much more if they were not behaving in such a greedy manner. In this respect it is Apple who represents the darkside, not Windows or Linux.

As for Wally world, I left a Walmart last week and I assure you I neither smoke crack or have 13 children. I am also betting that the packed parking lot containing vehicles ranging from $500 jalopies to $75,000 Mercedes,BMW's,Audi's, Caddy's and yes Hummers, were not owned by addicts either. The smug comments and superiority complex that seems to come along with owning this brand of computer infuriates me.

Even if I had only $1 to my name I would deserve to be treated with some manner of respect. The poorest, most uneducated families out there can see this basic truth. In my book, people who think like you should really take a look in the mirror because you obviously do not realize just how SMALL minded you are.

I agree wholeheartedly. People of all economic strata deserve to be treated like people. No more, no less.

Yes. I've bought Macs at a place where the front line sales people are usually as arrogant as they are clueless about their product. It's called the Apple Store. But man they are so cool in their color coded t-shirts!


Wow. Just wow. You guys know what gives Apple / Mac a bad name? It's the more than stereotypical elitist Apple fanboys.


Amen!

Love The MAC, Hate The Fanboy.

I specifically said that I WASN"T lumping you in with them.

I know you have your reasons, but they were negative. You are doubtful about whether this is a good idea, and whether it will work. That's negative. This is your entire post I responded to, how is it not negative about this subject?

Raising questions about something is the same as being negative. Right. Whatever.

I thought asking you pay attention to what I said instead making inferences about what I meant was a reasonable request, but I guess you're not going to see it that way.

Oh well. Have fun dealing with all the blowhards on this subject instead. There are plenty of them.

I don't know what you're getting upset about, just read what you wrote.

Walmart has one of the worlds largest databases on comnsumers and their purchase habits.
Inventory at a specific store is set by the location of that store and who shops there.
They may have an item at one but not at another store 5 miles away because it has a different market.

How did this become a class issue? It has nothing to do with a particular consumer's class level--not to mention, my boss just dropped $1500 for a 52" flat screen at Wal-mart, and he's hardly poor, a redneck, or perceived as 'lesser than.' My Wal-mart is kinda nice.

The issue here is that a lot of retailers have a 'set and forget it' approach to merchandising. If Apple creates self-sustainable displays then Macs can sell themselves; however, it they are expecting the average Wal-mart employee to be able to explain the difference between a Mac and a PC they we're back in 1998.

I can't see Wal-Mart selling an underwhelming AppleTV or a diminutive Mac mini to the same customers who can buy a quad-core HP desktop tower with an LCD monitor, Blu-Ray and a TV tuner for less than $1,000.

Do you really believe that the current iMac with its reflective glass, slower, dual-core mobile CPU, and high price stands a chance against a lower priced desktop computer with a quad-core desktop CPU, LCD monitor, 4 GB of RAM, Blu-Ray and a TV tuner?

Apple is a computer hardware company with no desktop computer, no office desktop computer and no family desktop computer. Do you really believe that Apple stands a chance in a competitive market place, of all places, at Wal-Mart?

Keep on dreaming...





P.S.: If you didn't catch my hint, Ben Reitzes doesn't know what he's talking about. Hopefully, Ben Reitzes is the laughing stock of analysts.