“The amazing Apple Watch was once available to own starting April 24, 2015. Now the watch is only shipping to customers who have pre-ordered the device on April 10th,” Mark Reschke writes for T-GAAP. “Yesterday Apple removed their 04.24.2015 date stamp on the Apple Watch’s home page, replacing it with “The Watch is coming.” According to The Telegraph, Apple’s Senior Vice President of Retail and Online sales, Angela Ahrendt, sent out a letter to Apple retail employees explaining the watch will not be available until June.”
As we announced last week, due to high global interest combined with our initial supply, we are only taking orders online right now. I’ll have more updates as we get closer to in-store availability, but we expect this to continue through the month of May. It has not been an easy decision, and I want to share with you the thinking behind it. — Angela Ahrendts, Senior Vice President, Retail and Online Stores
“Using corporate speak, Ahrendts is in CYA (Cover Your “Backside”) mode,” Reschke writes. “She feigns sorrow at the suffering of Apple retail store employee distress and then asks them to trust her further… Nobody likes walking into a store, seeing what they want, only to be told that product is not available for a few months, if not even longer. But this is exactly what Ahrendt’s odd pre-order, then fuzzy April 24 launch date has caused. This is a nightmare scenario for Apple. If this the new Apple launch process, why not order the MacBook from Amazon, MacMall or wait for the Apple Watch to show up at another location? Apple loses margins on each sale not going directly through their retail or online locations, and this launch has encouraged customers to wait, purchase elsewhere, or worse yet, buy something else.”
“Might Ahrendts not be an ideal fit for Apple? She comes from the world of high-end fashion, where she successfully managed Burburry. But haute couture and Apple are two different creatures,” Reschke writes. “If Apple wants to move towards personal, but fewer sales, that’s fine, but this isn’t the world Apple’s created under Steve Jobs or Tim Cook’s leadership. Perhaps Ahrendts wanted to make a name for herself, thus she’s trying a bold new launch approach at Apple, but perhaps she just doesn’t understand the scope and expectations of Apple’s customer base?”
Read more in the full article here.
MacDailyNews Take: First of all, apply Betteridge’s Law of Headlines immediately. We understand the frustration of wanting an Apple product when there is none to be found, but blaming the wrong person isn’t the best way to alleviate the frustration. Ahrendts isn’t going anywhere (especially not with $73.4 million and counting invested in her). If, God forbid, Tim Cook got hit with a bus tomorrow, we’d nominate Ahrendts to take over.
Secondly, Ahrendts is not to blame for product shortages. Technically, if you want to rant, rant about Jeff Williams, Apple’s COO, we guess, and throw in Tim Cook for good measure since he taught Williams, and/or whatever part of the supply chain is failing, but we wouldn’t rant about any of them at the moment. Things can change rapidly in the supply chain.
We believe that the concept of starting pre-orders on a certain date, with delivery a couple of weeks afterwards is sound. It eliminates the problems with scalpers being bussed in to stand in front of Apple Retail Stores, for one major benefit. Obviously, with Apple Watch, there is a problem ramping up production. The product simply isn’t there. You don’t blame the shopkeep, you blame the supply chain. Shit happens, you know?
If any company can rapidly get their ducks in order, it’s Apple. We wouldn’t blame Ahrendts for trying to make the best out of a bad situation.
Related articles:
Ahrendts memo: Apple Watches will not be available to buy in-store throughout May – April 16, 2015
Analyst: Low Apple Watch supply due to haptic motor and OLED display issues – April 15, 2015
Apple Watch deliveries could arrive sooner than expected – April 14, 2015
Apple Watch preorder data estimate: 1.24 million Apple Watches were preordered in the U.S. on Friday alone – April 13, 2015
Apple Watch first weekend preorders destroy Android Wear’s annual sales – April 13, 2015
Average U.S. Apple Watch pre-order was $707 – April 13, 2015
Apple Watch first-day pre-orders estimated near 1 million – April 13, 2015
Apple likely to quickly ramp up Apple Watch production – April 13, 2015
Apple Watch pre-order shipping estimates stretch into summer – April 11, 2015
Apple Watch sold out in minutes; didn’t preorder in time, how’s June sound? – April 10, 2015
Here are the dates you can expect to get your Apple Watch – April 10, 2015
Apple Watch on fire as Apple sells out fast – April 10, 2015
Apple Watch draws strong turnout at Apple Retail Stores – April 10, 2015
Apple Watch already sold out – April 10, 2015
Open thread: Did you get your Apple Watch preorder placed? – April 10, 2015
Wow, today I learned that Angela Ahrendts is somehow personally responsible for manufacturing delays with the Apple Watch.
This is the dumbest thing I have ever read on the internet, and that’s saying something.
What you SHOULD have learned is that Apple is now acting like lesser corporations.
Apple showed off the product 9 months ago, told the world when it would be available to buy. Then they told people not to go to Apple stores to buy it. Then told people that they couldn’t actually buy it, but they could “pre-order” it whatever the hell that’s supposed to mean (sounds like an interest-free loan that early suckers are giving Apple). Then instead of serving all customers on a first-come first-served basis, Apple tells people to make an appointment and even when you DO make an appointment and show up to check out a watch, they prioritize internet sales over retail sales.
Everyone would be much happier if Apple just publicly apologized for its manufacturing constraints and told people that Apples “most personal product” would be available in limited quantities in stores — but that all stores would have SOME stock.
Finally, it is Apple’s responsibility to know how much stock to have on hand when launching a product. If they are off by hundreds of thousands or millions, then that clearly shows that they need to up their game. “Just in time” manufacturing is NOT a good strategy for product launches. You settle into that mode AFTER you satisfy the surge in demand that happens every single time Apple releases a product. Apple has botched rollouts before, but they certainly aren’t getting better with experience.
Pretty sure that lack of supply (or at least demand outstripping it) is not her fault. She may well have suggested that online sales get the priority, but I doubt she would have made the decision in isolation. Had they put the supply in shops they would have no doubt still had more people wanting to buy them stop people would still be disappointed, at least this way they’re trying to save people a trip and time.
maybe Apple just didn’t expect to sell so many in one day. after all their one day sales has already surpassed full year sales for all other smart watch manufacturers combined
Neither Angela Nor Tim could have predicted that. even if Apple does have a great base, history of the market says you’re not going to sell that many Apple just fooled the market and bucked the trend as always
Sorry MDN, I don’t buy your don’t blame Angela approach here. She is the one the changed the process and “ok” so they only have 2 – 3 million unites to sell, not a big deal. Then scale back on what you allowed to be pre-ordered, do a staged rollout like prior launches and keep some inventory for 4/24 launch day. Yes they’ve taken 4/24 down from the website but my bet is we will see reports of people standing in line morning of 4/24 thinking they will be able to get an Apple Watch.
This chick is a disaster. What the hell does her title mean? If supply was the problem, then SHE should have gone to the executive committee and said, DELAY THE LAUNCH! If they persisted in moving forward, then this was the exactly wrong way to handle things. The employees were poorly trained, seemed fearful when you pressed for answers, and gave out inaccurate information. The fish stinks from the head and the buck stops with her. Burberry and Apple have next to nothing in common. Her experience at Burberry while laudable has no translation to Apple. It was a bad hire…take the hit, fire her and call Ron Johnson. Done, Done and Done.