After its grand launch in six different cities at the same time when BlackBerry started hitting different markets, it had been predicted that the new smartphone of the Canadian-based company would do well and might eventually gain the trust of investors in the stock market that saw BlackBerry shares dropping soon after the launch, apparently because the company had announced that the smartphone would be available in the U.S. after a few months.
That, however, is an old story and we saw the company’s officials boasting huge success when the smartphone was first made available in the U.K. and later in the hometown Canada. These two are prime markets for BlackBerry and carry large fan base. Many reports indicated that some carriers had even sold all the smartphones as soon as they were made available.
This developed an air of optimism around the company’s prospects, but some recent developments have put a question mark on the progress of the new smartphone. According to AllThingsD, Deutsche Bank’s Brian Modoff recently surveyed 60 BlackBerry carrier stores in the U.K. and Canada, and found out that there was not sell-out in the former, while in Canada the carriers fell short of stock because of poor inventory. According to Modoff:
“In Canada, many stores reported being sold out of the Z10 and the sales force was well-versed on the device’s attributes; however, a few representatives told us that they did not receive a large initial inventory. In the U.K., the sales force was better-versed on the feature sets relative to the week prior; however, no stores were sold out. … We think the initial signs of this launch do not indicate the strong sales we would like to see.”
We only have one survey report that targeted 60 carriers in two prime locations. It is not enough to judge the actual progress of BlackBerry, but the stats show that the picture is somewhat different from what was painted. We have maintained that these are still early days for the company and the smartphone, and availability of actual figures at the end of the fiscal year would truly determine the potential of the new smartphone. However, developments like the one reported in this piece are not a good omen for BlackBerry.
Photo: CBC/Canadian Press
Sony says Xperia ZL is Arriving at Rogers, Bell, Mobilicity, WIND, Videotron and MTS in April 2013
Samsung Poses Challenge to BlackBerry and Nokia
Lunches So Good Kids Can’t Ignore Them
Invigorating Ginger Smoothie
The U.K.’s Youngest Parents Ever
The new hair Jennifer Lawrence