Hot on the heels of Best Buy's announcement that it will start selling Apple Watch in the U.S. on Aug. 7, the big box electronics retailer confirmed its Canadian outlets plan to commence sales of the wearable one week later.
Best Buy Canada on Thursday told local website MobileSyrup to expect Apple Watch to land at 50 brick-and-mortar stores across Canada, as well as online, on Aug. 14. Watch will also be available for "feel and try-on" sessions at 20 stores.
"It has become one of the most popular searched products on BestBuy.ca," said Tony Sandhu, senior vice president of merchandising at Best Buy Canada. "We're excited to bring the highly-coveted Apple Watch to more Canadian consumers, especially with the holidays coming up."
Apple confirmed Best Buy Canada's announcement in a separate statement.
Like Best Buy's U.S. Apple Watch launch, Canadian stores will not gain access to solid gold Apple Watch Edition models, meaning selection is limited to stainless steel Apple Watch and Apple Watch Sport versions. The company plans to sell a number of official Apple accessories like straps and charging cables alongside Watch units.
Best Buy announced on Sunday that it will start stocking Apple Watch at U.S. outlets on Aug. 7, making it the first major retailer to carry Apple Watch outside of Apple's own stores, pop-up shops and a handful of high-end boutiques. Initial availability is expected to be limited, but Best Buy plans to expand Apple Watch sales to more than 300 locations before the lucrative holiday shopping season.
The addition of outside Apple Watch sales is a sign that supply is finally catching up with demand. When Watch went up for preorder in April stock was so constrained that prospective buyers saw stock outs within 30 minutes. It was only in
12 Comments
it was only in ... ? (yes, some of us read beyond the headline/first paragraph) :)
Sales will certainly be improved when Canadian banks get around to signing up to Apple Pay.
Why is this article showing a picture of a Watch BB won't be selling?
[quote name="jsmythe00" url="/t/187434/canadian-best-buy-stores-to-start-apple-watch-sales-on-aug-14#post_2754788"]Until Apple fixes their products I'm not dealing with them any longer...well, not until the AppleTV comes out. And the next gen iPhone of course. Here's my complaint. I purchased the AppleWatch. It's a brilliant device. You‘d expect nothing less from Apple. Granted I have to strap the thing on my wrist to use properly but hey...it is what it is. Fix this Apple! Well it's been 4 days of regular use. When i turn my wrist the screen lights up about 99% of the time. WTF. I paid $500 and they couldn't get me that last 1%. Probably user error but I'm not owning up to that. So in 4 days I get use to the screen coming on with a wrist turn. I go to grab my naked iPhone 6. Yeah no case. Who's going to mar that beauty with a plastic case. Morons. I flip the phone over and guess what? Nothing lights up. @#%^$ I have to press the home button, wait for TouchID to register then I can use my phone. That takes about 1 second, but if you add that up over the course of a week, that's equal to the Batman V Superman trailer i could’ve watch...again. Now i have a phone that's cumbersome to use because my watch gives me most of the notices I need to see. I paid $650 for a device that's partially obsolete by a $500 device from the same company! Phone's just sitting on desk collecting dust while i fire off text messages on my AppleWatch. Buyers beware. Purchasing the AppleWatch might cause buyer's remorse due to your habits changing with using your other Apple products. Same thing happen with my Mac when I bought the 1st gen iPad. I stopped using my Mac. Can you believe an iPad 2 and iPad mini 2 later I'm still having that problem. F*#%![/quote] Rest assured, your watch can never make your phone obsolete, since both are required.
[quote name="Rogifan" url="/t/187434/canadian-best-buy-stores-to-start-apple-watch-sales-on-aug-14#post_2754803"]Why is this article showing a picture of a Watch BB won't be selling?[/quote] As a subtle jab at BB, showing them what they'll never have?