KEEPING WATCH
Analysts see Apple speeding time
No time to worry — they’re going to make more.
Analysts predict that Apple will ramp up production of the Apple Watch after preorders totaled more than 1 million on Friday alone, pushing wait times well into the summer for some models.
While some have suspected that the initial shortages are part of Apple’s marketing strategy, the company will get its assembly lines humming a little faster, some Wall Street analysts said on Monday.
Research firm Slice Technology estimated Monday that 957,000 people ordered the Apple Watch, committing to an average of 1.3watches at an average price of $ 503.83.
That’s a brisk start, even by Apple’s standards. In 2007, it took 74 days for Apple to sell 1 million units of its original iPhone. In 2010, the iPad took 28 days to hit the 1million mark. ( Unlike the Apple Watch, the iPhone and iPads were launched in the US only.)
The Apple Watch — which comes in three categories: Watch Sport, Watch and Watch Edition — allows users to check email, listen to music and make phone calls when paired with an iPhone.
It goes on sale officially on April 24.
Unless you ordered the Watch in the minutes after it went on sale at 3: 01 a. m. EDT Friday, you likely will wait until late May or early June to have it shipped.
But that long wait time may get shortened quickly as Apple is expected to run its production department a little faster, some analysts said.
“Based on our observations and media reports, launch day supply was largely sold out within the first 10 to 30 minutes depending on model,” Piper Jaffray analyst Gene Munster said in a client note.
Munster, who expects Apple to sell 2.3 million watches in the April-June quarter, expects Apple to ramp up production between mid-May and June.
BofA Merrill Lynch expects Apple to ship 4 million watches in the quarter.
The Apple Watch is Chief Executive Tim Cook’s first new major product launch and the company’s first foray into the personal luxurygoods market.
The company will sell the gadgets in Apple stores and online as well as in trendy fashion boutiques in Paris, London and Tokyo as part of a strategy to position the wearable computer as a musthave accessory.