“Months after Apple launched its much-hyped iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus, the company remains unable to meet the huge demand from consumers,” Linda Federico-O’Murchu reports for CNBC. “n late November, Piper Jaffray analyst Gene Munster wrote in a research note that only 58 percent of iPhone 6/6 Plus models were in stock at retail stores nationwide. Thus, two months after the product launch, 42 percent were still unavailable for public sale.”
“In varying degrees, this scene has played out with each new iPhone release, but this year, the inevitable race to get one–whatever the cost, whatever the inconvenience–was particularly intense. Customers have reported waiting weeks, even months, for online orders, or standing in ridiculously long lines—and even so, many have gone home empty-handed,” Federico-O’Murchu reports. “‘I’m surprised. That’s pretty long at this stage,’ said Frank Gillett, vice president and principal analyst at Forrester Research. ‘But this shows very strong and sustained demand. Good for Apple.'”
“Even with the huge demand, some industry professionals wonder whether the shortages are a simple supply/demand equation,” Federico-O’Murchu reports. “‘My gut feeling is that there’s something on the supply side that’s causing some sort of hiccup,’ said Ari Zoldan, founder and CEO of Quantum networks LLC, an e-commerce technology company in New York City. ‘I’m 99 percent sure this is not a coordinated marketing strategy. You don’t want to create a situation where people are upset with the brand,’ he said.”
Read more in the full article here.
MacDailyNews Take: Why can’t Apple meet iPhone 6/Plus demand months after launch? Because iPhones with larger displays are at least two years late, that’s why. The demand will remain insatiable for the foreseeable future.
[Thanks to MacDailyNews Reader “David E.” for the heads up.]
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