iPod nano sales off to slow start
First week sales of Apple's new shockingly thin iPod nano have fallen short of expectations, with most Apple retail stores having sold only one-fourth of their initial inventory of the players, AppleInsider has learned
A couple of Apple retail stores in California, which last week received over 1400 iPod nanos, said they sold only a couple of hundred units by Saturday. This despite favorable reviews from both analysts and the media.
"Our checks indicate good, but not great initial sales of iPod nano," said Shaw Wu, an analyst for American Technology Research. "This may be surprising given the consensus view from both the investment community and technology reviewers that the iPod nano would be a big success."
According to the analyst, many Apple stores who were contacted reported selling only 200-500 of their initial 1800-2500 iPod nano allocation. Additionally, Wu confirms earlier reports that the black iPod nano is greatly outselling the white models.
"[The] black-colored ones are outselling the white ones by a great deal," Wu wrote in a research note released to clients on Tuesday. "5 to 1 and in some cases as high as 8 to 1." Coincidentally, these sales ratios completely contrast Apple's initial production ratios of the nano, which reports suggest were 1 black nano for every 5 to 8 white nanos.
AppleInsider's own checks reveal that at least two other retail locations had sold out of the 4GB black model, but retained stock of all other models.
At the same time that sales of the nano appear to be lacking, demand for the now discontinued iPod mini continues to be strong, according to Wu. He notes that the price cuts applied to the mini just prior to the release of the nano have since been retracted.
"We believe iPod nano is a great product and evolutionary step combining the best elements of iPod shuffle, iPod mini, and iPod photo, but we believe Apple may need to make some changes to ensure its success as a high-volume product," Wu added.
The analyst speculates that the iPod maker may need to slash the price of the nano by $50 if sales continue to under-impress.
A couple of Apple retail stores in California, which last week received over 1400 iPod nanos, said they sold only a couple of hundred units by Saturday. This despite favorable reviews from both analysts and the media.
"Our checks indicate good, but not great initial sales of iPod nano," said Shaw Wu, an analyst for American Technology Research. "This may be surprising given the consensus view from both the investment community and technology reviewers that the iPod nano would be a big success."
According to the analyst, many Apple stores who were contacted reported selling only 200-500 of their initial 1800-2500 iPod nano allocation. Additionally, Wu confirms earlier reports that the black iPod nano is greatly outselling the white models.
"[The] black-colored ones are outselling the white ones by a great deal," Wu wrote in a research note released to clients on Tuesday. "5 to 1 and in some cases as high as 8 to 1." Coincidentally, these sales ratios completely contrast Apple's initial production ratios of the nano, which reports suggest were 1 black nano for every 5 to 8 white nanos.
AppleInsider's own checks reveal that at least two other retail locations had sold out of the 4GB black model, but retained stock of all other models.
At the same time that sales of the nano appear to be lacking, demand for the now discontinued iPod mini continues to be strong, according to Wu. He notes that the price cuts applied to the mini just prior to the release of the nano have since been retracted.
"We believe iPod nano is a great product and evolutionary step combining the best elements of iPod shuffle, iPod mini, and iPod photo, but we believe Apple may need to make some changes to ensure its success as a high-volume product," Wu added.
The analyst speculates that the iPod maker may need to slash the price of the nano by $50 if sales continue to under-impress.
Comments
I think the difference betwen this and the normal iPod is that the nano reminds you of something else. It doesn't matter what (hifi remote? pcmcia card?), the point is that by virtue of not reminding you of something else, the original iPod was unique. But this does remind you of something else.
It's just a thing, not a unique thing. Maybe... that's not the whole story either, still trying to figure out why I didn't want to buy.
I also feel like I would lose or break the nano.
You get less storage space for the same price as the Mini, and you also get a smaller product (that argument is purely psychologically)
Also perhaps the fact that it doesn't support Firewire might turn down a few customers...
Originally posted by afalkner
yeah,,,i dont know. I know there really wasnt room for an additional ipod but I wish they wouldnt have replaced the minis....My wife loves her blue mini and my sister desperately wanted a pink one for her birthday coming up...I told her to wait cuz i thought she might be able to get a pink one with a color screen. Well now she might not even be able to get a pink one at all! For me I have a 40 gig that is full and cant imagine only having 4gigs.....unless it was my second ipod. But I dont really need that. And can say with certainty that the women in my life really liked the minis A LOT more than the nanos. Or so they say. I think they just liked the colors it came in. All though they have not seen the nanos in person.
I also feel like I would lose or break the nano.
I must say it does LOOK like it could be easily broken but it irks me when people say things like that. Just like when that one analyst said the iMac G5 LOOKS like you could just touch it and it would fall over. That's a negative review but it wasn't true. Just becuase you think somthing will happen doesn't mean it will. The nano was tested for durability and was very very durable. Now, the losing thing, that's another story.
If Apple's production ratio favoured the white Nano, and demand is for the black one, supply may be the issue of lower than expected sales.
Hindsight is 20/20 (we all know from the original iPod), but a $50 drop would probably have gone a long way in guaranteeing a successful launch.
What the Nano doesn't have is color selection. It may have a color screen, but it still doesn't come in color - and rubber/silicon skins are not the answer. I tried one of these recently and it felt gross to touch my iPod (plus the iSkin I tried left some nasty marks on my iPod).
If production costs are the issue, maybe Apple should develop a faceplate system for iPods. A potential problem is that doing so would add to the bulk of the device, but color, it seems, matters more than size.
It´s a shame they will not sell the mini anymore, there is a lot of accesories for it, and the size form factor/HD is really great. This is the kind of move that Apple loves to do and now they risk more of what the need to risk.
If the coustumer wants the ipod mini as it is (and the sales charts show you that) don´t touch it, just add a new product to the mix, you dont need to replace it.
It´s like Adobe stop selling Photoshop and start selling a combo of Photoshop Elements with Acrobat!!!!!
If anything, it sounds like Apple misjudged the appeal of the black Nanos more than anything else. Which can be fixed fairly quickly.
The change must be a little disorientating for consumers at first, but once people see and handle them... I just don't see how these aren't going be a big hit.
p.s. Note that iPod Nanos are (of course) now the top sellers at the online Apple Store.
I'm not worried about sales, especially with the holiday buying season very close. I'm actually more concerned with what Apple is going to do with their Macs for the rest of the year.
Originally posted by afalkner
Apple still makes Macs?
Sadly, for a generation of kids, Apple is only about iPods.
Originally posted by ascii
I went in to the Apple store and handled them myself (both colors). I can't put my finger on the reason why, but I just didn't want to buy. Strange...
Question. Did you have the money to buy an iPod nano? If not, that could be the reason why you didn't get one. I'll leave you to think about it for a bit.
Originally posted by afalkner
I also feel like I would lose or break the nano.
Lose it maybe. Break it? Not likely
http://arstechnica.com/reviews/hardware/nano.ars/3
"Poor sales" or "great sales but starting slower than expected" or simply "people waiting because black is sold out?"
Reminds me of the people who said the 60 GB iPod was a flop because it sold fewer than the 20