Best Buy Company, Inc.BBY appears to be impressed by Apple Inc.'s AAPL new smart watch. This specialty retailer of consumer electronics believes the Apple Watch has mass appeal and that its demand would further increase in the coming days.
Consequently, Best Buy announced that it would expand distribution of the Apple Watch in a multi-fold manner, ahead of the upcoming holiday season as demand for the product has exceeded expectations.
We note that Best Buy was the first retailer, other than Apple's own stores, to sell the smart watch. Earlier this month, the hi-tech gadget was available across more than 100 Best Buy stores as well as online on BestBuy.com.
Given the growing demand of the watch, Best Buy has decided to make it available across all of its 1,050 big-box stores by the end of Sep, 2015. Apart these stores, the Apple Watch will also be sold at about 30 Best Buy Mobile Stores by the end of the above mentioned time frame.
Further, Best Buy will start selling AppleCare warranties later this year. The company will also turn into an authorized service provider for Apple products by the holiday season. The authorized service facilities will be initially available across 50 Best Buy stores.
The move signifies Best Buy's deepening ties with Apple. The company also announced that it has been revamping the 740 Apple shop-in-shops with help from the tech giant. Best Buy disclosed that it has finished upgrading about 350 in house Apple stores and expects to upgrade approximately 520 outlets by the holiday season.
The upgraded Apple shop-in-shops have new fixtures and more display tables for iPhones, iPads, MacBook and the Apple Watch. These facilities are expected to enhance customers' shopping experience and give an edge to Best Buy over its competitors.
As per sources, Apple's CEO Tim Cook did not disclose much about the sales of Apple Watch in the company's third-quarterearnings callon Jul 21, 2015. Moreover, third party research hinted that the Apple Watch sales have slowed down compared to the initial sales after its launch in April.
However, Best Buy looks convinced about the success of Apple Watch in the coming days.
At present, Best Buy carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). A better-ranked stock in the same industry is Aaron's, Inc. AAN , sporting a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy). Another better-ranked stock in the related industry is Target Corp. TGT , carrying a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy).
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The views and opinions expressed herein are the views and opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Nasdaq, Inc.
The views and opinions expressed herein are the views and opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Nasdaq, Inc.
