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 With the expected launch next month of the Apple Watch, the
company’s first new product in five years, Apple will be stepping
into new territory.
To conquer the marketplace, the watch will have to appeal not only
as a gadget but as a fashion statement, a fact tacitly acknowledged
by Apple's decision to launch its advertising campaign with a
12-page insert in the March issue of Vogue.
The company isn’t talking about plans for marketing the Apple Watch
in advance of its much-touted "Spring Forward" event on Monday, but
it clearly intends to keep a tight grip on initial sales and
distribution, leaving many retailers guessing about when - or if -
they'll be able to sell it.
Sources with direct knowledge of the matter said that Best Buy Co
Inc, one of the largest sellers of Apple products, may not get the
watch at launch time, though the company wouldn't comment on the
situation.
Other large retailers, including Macy's, Saks 5th Avenue,
Bloomingdales and Barneys said they had no immediate plans to carry
the watch. Target and Nordstrom, along with all the major phone
carriers, declined to comment on their plans, though a source with
knowledge of the situation said Nordstrom has engaged in discussions
with Apple.
"Apple is being cautious. There are too many unknowns around how
this product will perform," said Van Baker, research vice-president,
technology research firm Gartner Inc.
That might mean restricting initial sales to company stores, where
Apple has complete control over the experience and staff can be
specially trained to sell the watch, Baker said.
Apple's Cook seems very aware of the challenge. The Telegraph, which
sent a reporter with the CEO to the company's Covent Garden store,
reported that he explained to the staff that selling the watch might
require "tweaking the experience in the store."
In the absence of hard information about what the tweaks might look
like, speculation has been intense. The Washington Post last week
suggested that Apple might add carpeting and mirrors and change
store lighting to enhance the watch-buying experience.
Media outlets and websites have also posited that the watch will be
offered at special pop-up stores installed at luxury retailers such
as Selfridges in London and Colette in Paris.
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Apple hosted a private event at Colette last September, at which
guests were able to try on the watch, but a spokesman for Colette
declined to comment on whether the store would carry it.
Until now, wearable gadgets have not been big sellers for technology
companies. Rival products such as Samsung's Gear watches have sold
poorly.
Apple hopes to change that, but it is still a big if whether the
watch will appeal to buyers seeking a fashion accessory, especially
if it needs to be upgraded every few years like Apple's phones,
tablets and computers.
"It could do wonders for the watch market if it means people might
wear watches again, but realistically, there are a lot of doubts,"
said Eric Wilson, fashion news director of InStyle.
"Fashion customers are more skeptical than anyone, so Apple has
picked a tough crowd."
(Refiles to change spelling of "its" in para 4; Barneys in para 6)
(Reporting by Nandita Bose in Chicago and Piya Sinha Roy in Los
Angeles, Additional reporting by Nathan Layne in Chicago, Alexei
Oreskovic in San Francisco and Malathi Nayak in New York, Editing by
Dina Kyriakidou and Sue Horton)
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