Apple Watch Orders Will Remain Exclusively Online Through May, Deliveries Begin April 24

[ZombiePete]

Get this woman out of Apple. She's in way over her head.

I'm not following how this is Ahrendt's fault? She doesn't control the production of the device; if there were issues that delayed manufacturing and left them with less stock to work with, she's taking the only really logical choice available to her. This also shouldn't really be a surprise to anyone who has been paying attention; she stated before that they would be selling the Watch online only for the time-being, she's just now formally acknowledging that they definitively won't be selling the Watch to walk-ins on the 24th.

Frankly, I think this is a refreshing new transparency for Apple when it comes to a product launch that you don't see very often.

 

[Mac21ND]

I mean, Microsoft made a huge error in producing too many Windows RT tablets which resulted in a write down of $1B, and Amazon lost a couple hundred million with their Fire Phone. Both of these are a mere fraction - however significant - compared to their bottom line.

I understand what you're saying, but I think you may be underestimating the perception that a write-down has. It's not just about the hard loss numbers, but also the perception that the product was a failure - which in turn can drive down shareholder's value (stock prices down) and overall marketability. MS had to dig itself out of that Win RT hole with a lot of advertising dollars and product improvements.

 

[Rogifan]

Since you can try on in store and order online right now did anybody really think there would be iPhone like lines outside stores on the 24th?

 

[sulpfiction]

It makes total sense not to have watches in store on the 24th. It would be a mess! Hundreds of people lined up all wanting different sizes, styles, bands, etc. it would be a complete disaster! Especially since it's a totally new product category that apple isn't used to. people might be mad now, but not as mad as u would be if u stood in line all night only to walk away from the store without a watch at all. There would literally be technerd riots all over the world. I think it was a really smart decision at this point.

 

[MrXiro]

Reposted from previous thread before moderator redirected everyone to this one:

Year after year with every Apple product launch, it's either been "blockbuster" or in the very least, initial demand has always outpaced initial supply. So, for a company with over $180B in the bank, they could've done better research, as well as take a calculated risk to ramp up the initial supply.

I mean, Microsoft made a huge error in producing too many Windows RT tablets which resulted in a write down of $1B, and Amazon lost a couple hundred million with their Fire Phone. Both of these are a mere fraction - however significant - compared to their bottom line.

The difference here is that Apple knows better and we know they know better, so at this point, people (and those famed analysts you always hear making up rumors) might have some justification to start to perceive Apple as naïve, ill-prepared, overly-conservative, or even stingy, and/or cheap. That makes for a poor customer experience and hurts their image, at least for this launch. I wouldn't be surprised if this hurts Angela's reputation as well - you know some journalist, blogger, or analyst is going to want to place blame somewhere.

Well it's a newer market. Pebble only had just hit a million units sold after 2 years on the market. I don't have any figures but I am doubting any of the android watches has hit 1 million units in sales. Apple watch is $100 premium or more over its competition and they've sold roughly 2.3 million units now right? It seems about right on track to me that they are doing well. It's not like they built 300 watches and are now caught unprepared to fulfill orders. 2.3 million units is a lot of product.

The real question is if this device continues to sell this well 6 months down the line.

 

[Chrjy]

Do you think Tim Cook is sitting in his office saying 'What a cluster ****'

 

[gcooldude86]

Does this mean they'll be shipping watches out for the 24th for the online pre-orders?

 

[Chrjy]

Does this mean they'll be shipping watches out for the 24th for the online pre-orders?

Some of them but not all....

 

[parkds]

I don't have any figures but I am doubting any of the android watches has hit 1 million units in sales.

Android Wear devices are estimated to have sold 720,000 units in all of 2014

 

[Rogifan]

Get this woman out of Apple. She's in way over her head.

"This woman"? Wow, sexist much? What does her gender have to do with anything? And if they don't have enough supply to stock stores right now how is that her fault?

 

[2457282]

I think that this will go down as a mistake for Apple and maybe land on the head of Angela. This has all the markings of a product rushed to market, with not enough inventory, part constraints, mixed and even contradictory messages. This is not the smooth launches that Apple is known for. The fact that a customer cannot walk into a store and purchase it is a serious problem. The fact that they stated a launch date of 4.24 only to back track since nothing is actually launching anytime soon is a problem.

Love apple and can't wait to get my watch in the mail. But this was one hot mess from a marketing and customer service perspective.

 

[WannaGoMac]

Reposted from previous thread before moderator redirected everyone to this one:

Year after year with every Apple product launch, it's either been "blockbuster" or in the very least, initial demand has always outpaced initial supply. So, for a company with over $180B in the bank, they could've done better research, as well as take a calculated risk to ramp up the initial supply.

I mean, Microsoft made a huge error in producing too many Windows RT tablets which resulted in a write down of $1B, and Amazon lost a couple hundred million with their Fire Phone. Both of these are a mere fraction - however significant - compared to their bottom line.

The difference here is that Apple knows better and we know they know better, so at this point, people (and those famed analysts you always hear making up rumors) might have some justification to start to perceive Apple as naïve, ill-prepared, overly-conservative, or even stingy, and/or cheap. That makes for a poor customer experience and hurts their image, at least for this launch. I wouldn't be surprised if this hurts Angela's reputation as well - you know some journalist, blogger, or analyst is going to want to place blame somewhere.

I disagree. Why should Apple not underestimate demand? It's a far better business decision to make a bit under what you expect and just spool up afterwards to meet demand. Apple purchasers are willing to wait to get the product.

 

[peteo]

I'm hearing some bad news .. http://www.businessinsider.com/angela-ahrendts-memo-on-the-apple-watch-launch-2015-4

The bad news is that you actually linked to a business insider click bait article

 

[Chrjy]

I disagree. Why should Apple not underestimate demand? It's a far better business decision to make a bit under what you expect and just spool up afterwards to meet demand. Apple purchasers are willing to wait to get the product.

Slightly more than a bit.

 

[dotnet]

I have it on good authority that the real bottleneck holding up watch shipments is the Apple logo embroidery on the buffing cloth. They've enlisted all sweatshops in Asia they could find, but still...

 

[cardfan]

With a given amount of supply and initial demand, perhaps Apple shouldn't be so ambitious. Launch in the US, provide a better experience, then move on to other countries as production ramps up. Apple had choices to make here. But that's neglecting your other markets and they would face criticism over a US only launch. Then there's the problem of moving the long lines on a US only launch day with people wanting to try them on first, it takes time to sync to iphone, etc.

Did they make the right choice? I think they did. It's a problem I'm sure other companies would love to have.

 

[doelcm82]

I hope this info gets out to customers who plan on camping out on the 23rd.

Me too. I hope a manager comes out and explains the situation before they set up their tent.

 

[Chrjy]

I have it on good authority that the real bottleneck holding up watch shipments is the Apple logo embroidery on the buffing cloth. They've enlisted all sweatshops in Asia they could find, but still...

That's not true, they only have one buffing cloth between them!

 

[jermy4]

I hope this info gets out to customers who plan on camping out on the 23rd.

Can you imagine how pissed off the campers will be if they wait in line for hours and get told to go home and order online?

 

[MrLoL]

But will the bands be sold in stores on 24th?

 

[BvizioN]

Order in time? I ordered my Sport at 3:01am and already it showed shipping as 4-6 weeks!

Well, in UK the apple store wasn't even open till about 8:02, and on the very first second it was open (I was refreshing) I placed my order. And got the 2 weeks delivery window time, starting at 24th.

 

[Terrin]

Reposted from previous thread before moderator redirected everyone to this one:

Year after year with every Apple product launch, it's either been "blockbuster" or in the very least, initial demand has always outpaced initial supply. So, for a company with over $180B in the bank, they could've done better research, as well as take a calculated risk to ramp up the initial supply.

I mean, Microsoft made a huge error in producing too many Windows RT tablets which resulted in a write down of $1B, and Amazon lost a couple hundred million with their Fire Phone. Both of these are a mere fraction - however significant - compared to their bottom line.

The difference here is that Apple knows better and we know they know better, so at this point, people (and those famed analysts you always hear making up rumors) might have some justification to start to perceive Apple as naïve, ill-prepared, overly-conservative, or even stingy, and/or cheap. That makes for a poor customer experience and hurts their image, at least for this launch. I wouldn't be surprised if this hurts Angela's reputation as well - you know some journalist, blogger, or analyst is going to want to place blame somewhere.

Your premise is flawed. Apple is a conservative company. It had to write off over two hundred million on the Mac Cube. This doesn't count list investment costs. The stock tanked, and it was serious money at the time. The calculated risk is spending the hundreds of millions of dollars Apple likely spent on researching and producing the product.

It is prudent to start off a small number and work up for a variety of reasons. First, manufacturing kinks are worked out in the weeks after production. Second, potential flaws in the product generally come to light early. Third, it is better to be able to sell all your inventory quickly. Fourth, judging demand is difficult when you have a variety of products in different styles and price configurations. Who knows what will sell the most?

Apple's approach is time tested, and works for the company.

 

[Locoboof]

Apple Watch Orders Will Remain Exclusively Online Through May, Deliveries Beg...

Can you imagine how pissed off the campers will be if they wait in line for hours and get told to go home and order online?

Exactly! Get outside the store at 2am,sleep outside all night. Then have the store manager at 10:am say "we're sorry,you need to order online. And please pickup your sleeping bag".

 

[Rogifan]

Me too. I hope a manager comes out and explains the situation before they set up their tent.

One would assume someone setting up a tent outside an Apple store is pretty clued in. Not seeing rope lines outside the store is a pretty good indication there's nothing to line up for.

 

[tkermit]

"This woman"? Wow, sexist much?

Not necessarily. The remark is clearly meant to be derogatory, but the fact that she's a woman is merely incidental. If it had been Brewett people would be calling for getting "that man" out of Apple. Not all derogatory remarks aimed towards women are sexist. Neither is calling a woman a 'woman' instead of by her name necessarily sexist.