Apple Watch sales expand to more third-party retailers with France's Fnac
Roger Fingas
On Thursday Apple continued to expand the number of third-party vendors for the Apple Watch, adding France's Fnac to the list of retailers, though initially only in a limited fashion.
Beginning on Friday, the Watch will be sold through Fnac.com and the electronics dealer's Champs-Elysees retail outlet, according to Metronews. Fnac is reportedly planning to expand sales to 50 other locations in coming weeks, and workers will get special training to provide an Apple Store-like experience.
Until this week, Apple had not sold the Watch at a third-party retailer in Europe beyond a few luxury boutiques.
There are still just a handful of third-party Watch vendors worldwide, the largest being Best Buy in the U.S. and Canada, which only came on board earlier this month.
Another addition this month was an Australian department store, Myer. As with Best Buy and Fnac, though, the Watch is available at just a small number of Myer locations.
It's not yet clear which models and Apple bands will be on sale at Fnac, though if it follows in the path of Best Buy there will only be Sport and stainless steel Watches, with a choice of sport bands or the Milanese loop.
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12 Comments
If the Apple Watvh was selling they wouldn't have any to sell to 3rd-party retailers¡ Epic fail¡
My daughter showed me the new Vogue Catalog -- the fashionistas' bible. There were 12 full page ads in a row -- showing face to face ... Here's a 2-page example: [IMG ALT=""]http://forums.appleinsider.com/content/type/61/id/61972/width/500/height/1000[/IMG] I suspect Angela had something to do with this.
[quote name="SolipsismY" url="/t/187809/apple-watch-sales-expand-to-more-third-party-retailers-with-frances-fnac#post_2763971"]If the Apple Watvh was selling they wouldn't have any to sell to 3rd-party retailers¡ Epic fail¡[/quote] Why is this a fail? It's the same strategy they employ for iPhone and iPad. It has no bearing on the amount of sales. Also, I realize this is anecdotal, but I'm beginning to see them regularly here in the Bay Area. Yesterday I counted 15 in the wild. It will take time for this to spread, especially in middle America.
[quote name="Levi" url="/t/187809/apple-watch-sales-expand-to-more-third-party-retailers-with-frances-fnac#post_2764011"] Why is this a fail? It's the same strategy they employ for iPhone and iPad. It has no bearing on the amount of sales. Also, I realize this is anecdotal, but I'm beginning to see them regularly here in the Bay Area. Yesterday I counted 15 in the wild. It will take time for this to spread, especially in middle America.[/quote] 1) I was being sarcastic. 2) Anecdotally, I see more Apple Watches and know more people who own them, then I did of any other new Apple product category after such a short time on the market. I think this is doubly impressive because an iPod, iPhone, and iPad likely stand out more than a watch in most situations.
[quote name="Dick Applebaum" url="/t/187809/apple-watch-sales-expand-to-more-third-party-retailers-with-frances-fnac#post_2764008"]My daughter showed me the new Vogue Catalog -- the fashionistas' bible. There were 12 full page ads in a row -- showing face to face ... Here's a 2-page example: [IMG ALT=""]http://forums.appleinsider.com/content/type/61/id/61972/width/500/height/1000[/IMG] I suspect Angela had something to do with this.[/quote] Because someone needs to tell Phil how to do his job! ;)