Fresh Analysis Supports BlackBerry’s Claim of No Abnormal Return Rate for Z10

By: Zain Nabi  |   April 17th, 2013   |   News, O Canada, Smartphones

BlackBerry has received support in its claim that there has not been any abnormally high return rate of its Z10 smartphone in the U.S., as Jefferies & Co analyst Peter Misek said in a report on Tuesday that the only few smartphones were returned.

 

This has added to the recent controversy that was initiated when analyst Detwiler Fenton claimed recently that the Z10 smartphone had received very dull response in the U.S. and that many users of the smartphone had been returning their devices. This prompted the company to come out and publicly challenge the report, which BlackBerry termed “false and misleading”.

 

The BlackBerry management also vowed to take this issue up to the authorities. The company’s stance has now been supported by Misek’s report that has not seen any abnormally high return rate of the smartphone. In fact, according to Misek, the phone has been doing well in different markets and its U.S. sales are not overwhelmingly poor either. Misek said in his report, via Barron’s:

 

“Our anecdotal U.S. discussions contradict recent allegations that Z10 returns are exceeding sales. Overall, our checks indicate typical return rates. Of the few phones that were returned, the only main commonality we found is that buyers thought the Z10 had a keyboard. As it does not, they returned it and will buy the Q10 instead.”

 

The Q10 smartphone that was released after the Z10 has a physical keyboard that is admired by many BlackBerry fans. Misek is of the view that the smartphone would do well in different markets, especially the Asian markets. He noted in the report:

 

“In Hong Kong/China and Singapore, the tone and commentary was materially better than we expected. In Singapore, commentary also highlighted how strong Indonesia was doing and noted major lineups of a 1,000+ at launch. Overall, we believe overall sell-through data is holding steady and Q10 pre-sales seem to be very strong in the business channel. We believe product launches for the next two quarters combined with steady sell through and low expectations set up for a material short squeeze.”

 

The report also hinted towards BlackBerry introducing new models of its smartphone. According to the report:

 

“Based on our checks we believe confirmation that 2-3 additional BB10 models are likely to launch before year end. A mid-range (i.e., ~$400) keyboard, a mid-range touch, and a 5″ Z10-like device (slated for year end launch).”