“So much for the Apple Watch being a niche product,” Matthew Townsend reports for Bloomberg. “Best Buy Co., at least, is convinced that the high-tech gadget has mass appeal… On Tuesday, Best Buy said it would expand distribution of Apple Inc.’s product 10-fold after demand exceeded expectations. The device will be available in 900 stores on Sept. 4 and all 1,047 of Best Buy’s U.S. big-box stores by the end of next month. The chain began offering the watch — offering models for between $349 and $700 — less than three weeks ago on its website and at 100 locations.”
“‘It has performed so well that, together with Apple, we’ve decided to roll it out,’ Best Buy Chief Executive Officer Hubert Joly said in an interview after the chain reported second-quarter earnings,” Townsend reports. “The broader rollout of the watch is part of Best Buy’s plan to give more space to Apple’s products. The retailer has been revamping its 740 Apple departments — known as stores-in-stores — with tech giant’s financial help. Best Buy, which is based in Richfield, Minnesota, expects to have 520 upgraded by the holiday-shopping season.”
“Having the Apple Watch ‘in all 1,000 stores by the end of September is a big deal for us,’ Best Buy Chief Financial Officer Sharon McCollam said on a conference call with analysts,” Townsend reports. “Best Buy also will begin selling AppleCare warranties later this year and will become an authorized service provider for Apple products, testing the offering in 50 stores by the holidays.”
Read more in the full article here.
MacDailyNews Take: Strengthening its ties with Apple makes Best Buy sound like it wants to live up to its name, for a change.
Apple Watch works best when other people with whom you wish to communicate have them, too. That’s when the magic really begins!
So, spread ’em far and wide, Best Buy!
SEE ALSO:
Best Buy CEO: Apple Watch demand is ‘so strong’ that we’re expanding sales to all 1,050 stores – August 25, 2015
The Apple Watch experience: Greater than the sum of its parts – August 20, 2015
Apple Watch owners vastly prefer Apple Watch to iPhone for Apple Pay – August 18, 2015
Apple stock halts slide as Best Buy begins selling Apple Watch in stores and online – August 7, 2015