“Apple Computer Inc.’s stock got a boost on Wednesday amid upbeat comments by a Morgan Stanley analyst, who said the computer maker’s pact with retail giant Wal-Mart Stores Inc. may be broader than some realize,” Michael Paige reports for MarketWatch.
“‘While we don’t believe Apple iPod availability at Wal-Mart is completely new news, we do think the partnership is broader than people think, in transition and set to expand in the near-term,’ asserted analyst Rebecca Runkle in a note to clients,” Paige reports. “Apple and the world’s biggest retailer have been expanding their pact to sell versions of Apple’s wildly popular digital music player from a test to a full partnership, marking a new development as of the last few months, according to Runkle. Sales of iPods at the Bentonville, Ark.-based retailer’s locations could boost Apple’s iPod sales by 100,000 units and add $20 million in revenue each quarter, according to the analyst’s conservative estimates.”
Full article here.
MacDailyNews Take: Apple is due to sell about 5.35 – 5.5 million iPod units this current quarter, according to a recent reports by Goldman Sachs and Piper Jaffray respectively. 100,000 units sold by Wal-Mart would account for about 1.8% of total units sold (based on 5.5 million figure).
Wal-Mart? iPods? Let’s see some iMacs on those shelves. Yes, yes, yes.
Believe it or not, there are a lot of people who are still clueless about iPods and having them in Wal-Mart will bring even more exposure of Apple’s MP3 player to the masses.
What’s an iPod??
What’s the internet?
I refuse to shop at Walmart. Will not do it again…ever.
I don’t want to see macs in a walmart. they aren’t commodity computers.
and it’s 1.9% based on the 5.35 mil. figure.
What’s a Wal-mart?
what’s a loopy_nj?
Face it all computers are commodities. Apple is no longer a niche player or is trying very hard not to be. Selling to Wal-mart is the way to go. It may hurt our elitist Mac egos but Apple needs to sell in this retail environment. Back to school Mac mini specials would be fantastic for Apple. If they could get Apple store within a Wal-mart that would be the best news ever. Some people may not like Wal-Mart but they do over $250 Billion in sales. It’s the elephant in the room that you can ignore if you want but it’s always going to be there. You might as well strike up a conversation.
Macs aren’t commodity computers, we hear.
They sure aren’t. You can hardly buy a Mac anywhere, in fact. About time that changed, too. Wal-Mart will do just fine, thanks. So will some good old Wal-Mart discounting to go along with the deal. We can get discounted Macs on promotion straight from the Apple store on a regular basis. Why not Wal-Mart, too? I would love it.
I’m sick of Mac being sooooo exclusive that I’ve never actually met another Mac user besides myself in the flesh. That’s just bunk. Bring on Wal-Mart. Yes indeed.
God, I hate Wal-Mart and everything they stand for. I got a gift certificate for Wal-Mart for Christmas and althought I appreciate the gift, I dread going in there to spend it. Even the thought of visiting the website gives me the heebee-geebees. Suck!
Anyways, I don’t know how Apple can keep Wal-Mart from whoring down the prices of Apple products. That is the polar opposite of what Wal-Mart does. They take the profit out of selling or even manufacturing products. A real cancer of the retail world.
“What’s a Wal-mart?”
Don’t you remember that series “A Simple Life” with Paris Hilton and Nicole Ritchie?
Paris asked the same question “What’s Wal-Mart” and Nicole Richie replied “I think it’s a place where you buy walls.”
The sad part about that scene is that they were being genuinely serious.
Can you believe some people from down under here in Australia thinks that iPod is the ‘cool’ term used for Mp3 players? Fascinating..
Furthermore, Right now would be just about a perfect time to load those Wal-Mart stores right up to the ceiling up with PPC boxes; drop the bottom out from under the prices and let her rip. Sell the living bejeezus out of those suckers and then go right ahed and sell ’em some more. It would be like heaven. lolol.
“What’s a Wal-mart?”
The WORLD’S BIGGEST retail store chain.
Give the analyst some slack, guys. One has to be conservative when making predictions about future sales. You don’t want to be caught in a position where you say, “1 million extra sales per quarter” and then the actual result is 300,000 per quarter.
Besides, the Wal-Mart deal would have an impact beyond just bottom-line numbers. This totally legitimitizes the iPod among retailers – if Wal-Mart can sell a lot of them, there is no reason why any other retailer can’t – this will force a re-evaluation on how well the iPod is being positioned in the retail outlets that sell them now.
“Don’t you remember that series “A Simple Life” with Paris Hilton and Nicole Ritchie?”
You are joking, aren’t you?
Walmart has sold Macs in the past. I was very surprised once about ten years ago to find Performas and some of those all in one Macs on display.
That’s it! Apple could spin the slow and clunky IBM chipped Macs (which we secretly know are just as good) as the Wal-Mart consumer grade product, and promote the new speedy Intel Macs as premium grade. Yeah! And then keep just keep selling both kinds! Like crazy!
Bwahahaha!
Ignorance is bliss, I wish I could honestly say “what’s a Wal-Mart”.
or wait a sec .. maybe ..
x86 architecture? .. just like the other guys? .. going into low-end Macs first? .. Wal-Mart?
hmmm … heheheh
iPods sell themselves (and/or have a long-standing ad campaign to help). But will Macs at Wal-Mart just be a repeat of the Best Buy situation, where they get treated like something from the Island of Misfit Toys? I hope not but suspect so.
Bob says “You are joking, aren’t you?”
I’m embarrased to admit that I saw that episode but no, I’m not joking.
Thank goodness Australia is Wal-Mart free. Big W and K Mart are close, but not quite at that lowest common denominator level.
“…Ignorance is bliss, I wish I could honestly say “what’s a Wal-Mart”.
Jeez, Duke, did you lose a kid in the lawn & garden section, or do you just hate the idea of Wal-Mart? That’s two posts telling us all how much you hate the place. It’s just a store, for pete’s sake…
Or do you just dislike the people who shop there?
I’d personally rather see macs at Wal-Mart than at Best Buy. At least the old guy behind the counter at the electronics section doesn’t try to pass himself off as some sort of expert, like the goofballs at BB. He just rings up your item and goes back to his issue of RV Monthly.
This could be a dangerous road Apple is going down with Wal-Mart, ya know. If at any point Apple begins to sell more items through Wal-Mart than any other retailer (including their own B&Ms;), then Wal-Mart can simply begin to put the screws on Apple to lower their prices while maintaining the quality level which means that Apple quickly loses the high profit margins to Wal-Mart, because Wal-Mart is calling the shots when it comes to shelf space, which then could seriously impact Apple’s bottom line. Given that scenario, this could be bad. Very bad.
Yes, Apple has billions in the bank (right now), and the current agreement is apparently only a fraction of anticipated sales, but that’s all Apple should be doing. Ever. Apple needs to keep the upper hand in terms of potential vulnerability to the big box retailers, and as long as it’s not hurting their own stores, more power to ’em.
Now, on the other hand, I agree with the post above that suggests Apple can clear their EOC merchandise in advance of the MacTel line being released – that would create a greater chance that great computers would end up in the hands of those who would otherwise have more likely chosen a pc. And that would be a very good thing. Indeed.
Commenting on Dukes Walmartaphobia…
It gives Mac evangelists a bad name if we bash the preferred retail superstore of the average person.
I’ve visited quite a few Walmarts a lot since moving to Atlanta this year (never been in one before that). They have great groceries, lots of selection, cheap to average prices, and generally are a great place to go if you want to one-stop-shop. Their contribution to society is that they make a lot of products previously unavailable to lower income folk available. They are also a huge employer. What’s wrong with that?
Walmart buys in bulk and passes that savings along to the consumer, many of whom would not otherwise be able to afford to do that kind of shopping. If Walmart did the same bulk purchasing with the iPod then what’s the worst that could happen? Apple nets only $100 per unit instead of $115?
-B
They destroy local businesses, treat employees badly, you name it… They damage local economies, “creating jobs” but destroying higher-paying jobs, and then guess what? Those people can’t afford to shop anywhere else!
The list goes on:
http://walmartwatch.com/
Cheap? Sure. But there’s no free lunch.
“Their contribution to society is that they make a lot of products previously unavailable to lower income folk available.”
Not only that–they also make more lower income folk available!
I don’t shop WalMart because of their Politics. I wish Apple would pull their products for similar reasons.
“They are also a huge employer. What’s wrong with that?”
The saddest irony is someone with a Wal-Mart floor-level single income would barely be able to shop at Wal-Mart. I’m not a big fan of unions, but with employers like Wal-Mart I see why they’re necessary.
“If Walmart did the same bulk purchasing with the iPod then what’s the worst that could happen?”
What happens when iPods are at Wal-Mart for significantly less than at the Apple Store? Why would Apple let anyone undercut their own retail channel? There’s no opportunity in a reseller that will try (no, demand!) every way to turn you into a commodity.
“Walmart buys in bulk and passes that savings along to the consumer, many of whom would not otherwise be able to afford to do that kind of shopping”
If one can’t afford regular iPod pricing, they probably can’t afford ITMS (the real reason for IPod’s existence).
My political dislike of Wal-Mart aside, this is a good thing.
Apple is in a position to dictate terms to Wal-Mart, so don’t believe for a second that this is Wal-Mart doing business-as-usual.
It is just crazy to believe that Apple is going to let Wal-Mart sell anything other than iPods and iPod-related Apple product. Don’t believe for a second that Apple trusts them with the Macintosh brand. Not even the Mac Mini.
Now if Apple creates a “Mac Mini Kit” including a keyboard, mouse, and monitor, all bets are off.
But do not expect to see iMac G5s in Wal-Mart.
Jeepers:
“Apple is in a position to dictate terms to Wal-Mart…”
Very true. Apple hasn’t/doesn’t need Wal-Mart. Apple can easily put price constraints on Wal-Mart the same as they do with Target and Best Buy. And all the mail-order companies, for that matter.
Wal-Mart puts the squeeze on companies that rely on Wal-Mart for the majority of their sales. Apple has its own stores, its own on-line presence, a network of independent sales affiliates, and Target/Best Buy.
Wal-Mart is late to the game and in a poor bargaining position. Frankly, I would be amazed if Wal-Mart sell enough iPods to even matter. But increased availability of iPod helps ensure its future by keeping the Napster-compatibles from grabbing this market sector unchecked.
Just in Wal-Mart the other day. They’re open when everyone else is closed.
They had a small section of MP3 players hanging on display. But the iPods+HP and even the $99 iPod Shuffle (512MB) were in a glass showcase under lock and key.
That says a lot. Marketed at the world’s largest discount retailer, yet still in a class (glass) by itself.
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Wal-Mart is to the retail world what Microsoft is to the computer world.
http://www.tradelocal.org/arts/wrongwal.htm
To read the anti-Walmart posts on this thread you would think that the public schools had stopped teaching basic economics.
1. No one forces you to shop at Walmart.
2. No one forces anyone to WORK at Walmart.
3. Walmart no more forces other retailers out of business than any other successful company does in a competitive market. Consider that Apple itself is one of the largest computer manufacturers in the world and thus, Apple itself is forcing other mfgs. and software developers out of business. I don’t see anyone complaining about that.
4. If another huge retailer (Fred Meyer in the Pacific NW, Target, KMart, Sears, etc.) could do what Walmart does then let them, that is what the free market is all about.
5. Walmart employs people in entry level retail jobs just like McDonalds employs people in entry level food service jobs. This is a GOOD THING. They have a job learning the ropes before moving on. NOT EVERYONE CAN MAKE $50K PER YEAR IN THEIR FIRST JOB FOR PETE’S SAKE! There are people making very good wages at Nordstroms or the Apple Retail stores but I guarantee you that they had some previous experience in retail. The average worker at Walmart probably never worked in retail before in their life. So they work hard, maybe move up to supervisor level or they move on to a higher paying retail job someplace else. Absent Walmart and similar retail chains like Kmart, the choices for entry level jobs lie primarily in food service and the hospitality business. Now there’s a wonderful line of work
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6. Ranting against Walmart is pointless inasmuch as this is a free country where you should be able to start and run any kind of legal business you want. Every successful business puts other businesses on the rocks. That’s life, get over it. Heck, even today Apple is putting someone out of work somewhere (Redmond maybe?). Are you people suggesting that you would like to take some kind fascist tack and put the government in control of Walmart (or worse, try to eliminate them?)
7. Walmart is not analogous to Microsoft. Microsoft is a producer. It makes things. People here may not like what they make but consumers buy their product (sometimes for good reasons, sometimes because they are ignorant of the fact that better products exist) and that’s what makes world economies go around. Walmart is a retailer. They sell OTHER COMPANY’S STUFF! It never ceases to amaze me that people don’t understand the difference between retail access to a product and the producers of the product itself. Walmart sells tons of goods from all over the world, a great deal of it made right here in the good ol’ USofA by tiny businesses in New York and Duluth who managed to get a product into the pipeline at the world’s largest retailer. What a coup for them! Walmart does a very good job of making that stuff available at good prices. I have purchased things at Walmart that I would never have otherwise purchased ANYWHERE because they made it available to me at a price I was willing to pay. Did I get great service while I was in the store, was the decor’ wonderful, the lighting muted, the music listenable. No, I don’t expect the frills when I go into Walmart because I don’t want to pay for them. I don’t expect fantastic food or even a waiter to give me a refill when I go into Burger King, does that make BK evil? Of course, not, I don’t have to frequent BK if I don’t want to and the kid making minimum wage doesn’t have to work there either. They can go pick berries or mooch off their parents as an alternative sans a job at the burger joint. The workers at Walmart, many of whom are immigrants by the look of it, have a life they could never have dreamed of elsewhere without a job at Walmart. One day they will move upward and onward.
I’m reminded of a story a friend of mine who was a missionary in Taiwan in the 60s told me. At the time, Taiwan was the Indonesia of today, manufacturing-wise. There were people making about 25 cents an hour in the factories fabricating transistor radios and such for the American market. My friend told me that the Taiwanese were always incensed at American liberal do-gooders who would boycott Taiwanese products because they were made in factories where people made low wages (by American standards). “Why don’t they just mind their own business?” They would ask my friend. Evidently, they were deathly afraid that Americans would stop buying their products and they would all have to leave their climate controlled factory jobs and go back out and work in the rice paddies for 25 cents A DAY.
Walmart haters need to get over yourselves. If you don’t want to shop at Walmart don’t. Go over to the Gap and buy your Rage Against The Machine T-Shirt. Pay more for the same goods someplace else. I don’t care. I’m sure the entry level Walmart employee who now has her first real job ever will appreciate your compassion for her.
NOT.
So, Beeblebrox, are you dating Paige Laurie, or just doing her homework?
Hmmm… said: “So, Beeblebrox, are you dating Paige Laurie, or just doing her homework?”
I assume this is some kind of wisecrack but I don’t get it. Sorry.
-B
Completely off-topic:
As a European I hardly know Walmart, but they have opened a few here. I find them rather midrange priced. Try Lidl or Aldi, those are cheap.
If Walmart is the ultimate in cheap in the US (I’m starting to get that impression by the discussion here), it {figures} that y’all need to work at least 60 hours per week and have only two weeks holiday per year…
Amen Beeble.. it’s econ 101: adapt or die..
Quote from the article, …”strong sales of the latest version of the company’s operating system, called Tiger, and its Mac computers can offset any volatility in iPod results for the near term.”
Hmm…I thought it was the other way around – iPod and iTunes were to help mitigate any slow down in Mac sales due to the transition to processors made by Intel.
Peace.