“The iPhone continues to be the breadwinner in the Apple Inc. ecosystem, but Pacific Crest analysts cited evidence on Wednesday that suggests Apple Watch demand is slowing,” Jennifer Booton reports for MarketWatch.
“‘Anecdotal evidence suggests Apple Watch demand is slowing quickly,’ said Pacific Crest’s Andy Hargreaves,” Booton reports. “The brokerage reduced its fiscal 2015 watch unit estimate to 10.5 million from 11 million and slashed its fiscal 2016 estimate to 21 million from 24 million. The average analyst estimate for watch unit sales is currently 4.2 million and 14 million for 2015 and 2016, respectively, according to FactSet.”
Read more in the full article here.
“‘Anecdotal evidence suggests Apple Watch demand is slowing quickly,’ according to Hargreaves’ note. ‘This dovetails with recent supply checks, which suggested a reduction in component order volume,'” Matt Krantz reports for USA Today.
“The report is the latest data point indicating investors and developers need to downscale their expectations from this new gadget,” Krantz reports. “In early May, brokerage firm UBS cut its fiscal 2016 forecast for Apple Watch sales – even calling the launch of the product ‘somewhat botched.'”
Read more in the full article here.
MacDailyNews Take: What this “anecdotal evidence” is, is never explained in either article. If it’s “Google searches,” then, sorry, that is not a reliable indicator of demand.
Now, forget the “somewhat,” The Apple Watch launch was obviously botched. You cannot sell units without units to sell. And you cannot maintain momentum without promptly satisfying early adopters so they can spread the excitement to the next wave, the early majority.
Apple should have stayed silent last autumn, held an appropriately-timed Apple Watch unveiling event in March, and launched the device in June after they had sufficient units on hand and in stores.
If Apple was on their next CEO, one not handpicked by Steve Jobs, and this type of ill-timed “launch” happened, that CEO would currently be under massive fire, and rightfully so.
SEE ALSO:
Morgan Stanley soundly refutes KGI Securities analyst Ming-Chi Kuo’s Apple Watch demand claim – May 21, 2015
Morgan Stanley: Apple Watch demand up 60% in US since March – May 21, 2015
