Many Apple Stores Not Carrying Retina MacBook Stock on Launch Day

Glad I didn't journey into store specifically to see one then. Apple staff were telling me just a couple of days ago that there would be display units out today. Being directed to order online without even seeing a unit is a tad annoying.
 
RogerWilco said:
Unlike other Apple execs (and very un-Jobsian) Ahrendts received most of her pay up front in the form of $70M+ cash bonuses, so this $6M stock sale is pocket change. I think she knows that her role is to act as scapegoat if this watch intro fizzles.
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That isn't how large companies operate, at least in most cases. Beyond that she will have little control over the production side of the equation. Everything about this launch strikes me as Apple not having enough initial inventory for the launch. Apparently everyone at Apple knew this thus here public comments earlier in the week about customers standing in line. She didn't want customers standing in line and being disappointed about the lack of stock.

This obvious lack of inventory was obvious well before launch date if you read between the lines with respect to comments coming out of Apple.
 
That's not going to make a lot of skinny macbook potential buyers happy.

A big part of their buying incentive is to be able to parade around the mall on launch day, pointing to their bag saying, "It's the gold one, and just one port to worry about!"
 
cambookpro said:
So you can't buy a Watch in the store, you can't look at the new MacBook in the store...

What's the point of building hundreds of Apple Stores if you can't actually buy anything in them?!
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Exactly!! This policy about view in store, buy online is frustrating. I hope this is reverted overtime.
 
Ordered my watch a 5am est...

Ordered my watch a 5am est...
and I'm expecting a June delivery. Good grief, I might lose interest by then.

Sport Watch Black.
 
Was this ideal, no... but I really don't see why so many people are in a twist over it. The same thing has happened before. 5k iMacs were impossible to get and none in the stores. Even a month or so later they had only one on display in the store. I ordered mine several months after release and it was still a 3-4 week lead time on my BTO configuration.

Even if the stores had some on display, I wouldn't have gone to play. The stores are madhouses in the middle of an off day. I seriously didn't mean to busta rhyme there, lol. The stores are like a college bar on Friday night with a band when big product launches are going on. :eek:

I got my new Macbook ordered as soon as the online store was available and it was an automatic 3-4 week ship time as soon as I clicked the box for the 1.3ghz cpu. I guess I'll hold out some hope that the shipping time could improve, but it is what it is. It will awesome when I get it.
 
rkenyon said:
There are none in store to try. At least in the UK. No display models, and the staff have no idea when they'll get them.
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Thanks for clarifying, I didn't realize this was the case - that no stores had them available to try out.
 
kingofwale said:
none here in Canada

http://9to5mac.com/2015/04/09/angela-ahrendts-apple-stock/

Angela Ahrendts sold 6 millions dollars worth of Apple stocks 4 days before the launch. Most likely knowing that Macbook will NOT be even on display.

I hope she gets investigated for inside trading.
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People at her level ALWAYS have inside information. They can legally trade stock, but they have to disclose their intention months in advance. If this mechanism didn't exist, executives could never sell their stock and it would be worthless to them.

The idea is that she can make trading decisions for her own stock with full knowledge of the secret insider information. She files the disclosure. Months later, the stock trade happens. By that time, the information is no longer secret, the stock price has already accounted for the information, and she has gained essentially no advantage relative to the general public from her once-secret knowledge.

If she's recently sold stock, after the proper advance disclosure, that's NOT insider trading.

Insider trading abuses are typically when an insider shares secrets with an outsider who has no restrictions on trading, before that information is available to the public at large. The outsider is the one getting the unfair advantage. Sometimes the outsider pays kickbacks to the insider.
 
Dwalls90 said:
Seems to be that she's instilling this new "try in store, but order online" philosophy.
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More like 'Can't find it in the store, order sight unseen online and wait for months' philosophy.

Apple's marketing is TOO good. Lots of fed up early adopters. The people who win are the 'fair weather' Apple fans who'll walk into an Apple Store or reseller in 3 or 4 months and be able to browse and buy an Apple Watch or rMB at their leisure.

Here's the simple math I use if I intend to buy a new Apple product:

The date I realistically expect to have the item in my possession >= release date + 2 months
 
yaxomoxay said:
before implying insider trading, have you checked that the sale was not pre-planned as it is in all the other cases? OR do you honestly think they keep all of their stocks until they leave?
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Exactly. Yahoo shows it as an "automatic sale". Most likely sold under SEC Rule 10b5-1. This sale would have been set up a good time ago in an open window where insider information had little impact on share prices.
 
wizard said:
That isn't how large companies operate, at least in most cases. Beyond that she will have little control over the production side of the equation. Everything about this launch strikes me as Apple not having enough initial inventory for the launch. Apparently everyone at Apple knew this thus here public comments earlier in the week about customers standing in line. She didn't want customers standing in line and being disappointed about the lack of stock.

This obvious lack of inventory was obvious well before launch date if you read between the lines with respect to comments coming out of Apple.
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The choice of Ahrendts to run retail is 100% on Tim Cook, and from what I see it speaks of chaos and desperation. Cook, supposedly the wizard of the supply chain, seems to be stepping on his protuberance lately.
 
satchmo said:
Maybe Apple is reworking it to shoehorn another USB-C port on the other side.:p
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I wish! If they had done that, it would be a more serious consideration for purchase. As it is right now, it's just too limited. Six Colors website has a great example of the adapter to adapter to adapter craziness they went through to use certain things.
 
Yes, they might as well not advertise that the macbook pro is available today, because I have not seen it anywhere too. This is so disappointing!
 
Traverse said:
They should still have display units out, but I wouldn't go near an Apple Store for at least a week, maybe two! :eek:
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They do. I just saw one. Our local Apple Store was very empty this morning. Had no problem looking at the MacBook or the Apple Watch. Kind of a non-event really.
 
rkenyon said:
Fair enough running out of stock, but not having any display models to test out is crazy.

Who would buy a new MacBook without playing around with it for a while? The same people that would buy a dog turd if it had an Apple logo I suppose...
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I think it is fairly normal for new Macs to appear in non-flagship stores sometime during the launch day. When the day's regular FedEx shipment arrives, they'll unbox a few computers and set them up as store demos within an hour or two.

That's the way it was for the 2012 iMacs, and the folks in the store indicated that was about what they expected. They expected to get some computers the first day, but they weren't certain until they actually arrived at the store. They wouldn't make any promises in advance.

By the end of launch day, they had the demos running in the front of the store, and they'd sold out of all the other systems that arrived that day. No big deal.

Apple doesn't typically expect iPhone-like demand for Macs on the first day. They don't pay the extra money to pre-deploy the relatively larger Macs to satisfy the morning rush.

Did Apple EVER promise these new MacBooks would be available first thing in the morning in every store? I doubt it. If they have some by end of day, they'll have hit their target.
 
maximus5328 said:
The new MacBook: so thin that you can't even see it in our store.
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About 4 more generations, this (good) joke is probably going to become reality. MB Nano: battery, keyboard, screen sold separately. Mobile microscope to be able to find where you left it on a desk or table sold separately too.
 
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RogerWilco said:
Unlike other Apple execs (and very un-Jobsian) Ahrendts received most of her pay up front in the form of $70M+ cash bonuses, so this $6M stock sale is pocket change. I think she knows that her role is to act as scapegoat if this watch intro fizzles.
Click to expand...

I don't know her personally but I think she's overrated. No one can be that spectacular to be worth all that money. The things that are wrong with the Apple stores are things anyone could tell you - like the ridiculous launch of iPhones where they'd encourage people to turn up every day should any deliveries occur. The attention to detail that Apple gives to their products isn't quite so true with their customer service in store. Admittedly, they've got better over the years with reservations etc but it's not rocket science. The stores do well because it's Apple where you can (usually) try products and buy them. The stores themselves, whilst smart, aren't actually that amazing.
 
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