Posted on 04/16/2015 10:39:55 PM PDT by Up Yours Marxists
They had a phone, a portable music player, and computers.
Now they have a phone, they dominate tablet sales (a market they essentially created), they have the watch, they are the #3 seller of personal computers in the US, and the #1 seller of high-end ($1000 or more) laptops. Somewhere along the line, they've sold millions of Apple TV units as just a "hobby".
Apple has always been about having a relatively small number of products, but making those products very well. What would you have them expand their portfolio to?
You keep using that word ObamaCare, I don't think you know what it means.
No one is forcing you to buy an Apple watch.
Based solely on your prediction, I doubled my long positions on Apple stock.
I want to take you at your word that you only want to have a reasoned discussion. Okay, then.
The article says it numerous times (in case anybody misses it): "its launch has failed, and failed incredibly badly", but silly me, I'm not seeing anything except:
The buyers (other than the usual small number of professional malcontents) don't appear to be screaming bloody murder. And it seems to me the launch story won't be over until first buyers have their watches. Then, and only then, will you hear the screams (if indeed they happen) that tell you something actually went badly.
I don't get the eagerness to declare failure before the story is told. So enlighten me with specifics other than the three above, please?
Oh, that can be summed up in two simple words: "click bait".
The CEO is more concerned with supporting the militant gay agenda than running the company. I don’t know why corporate boards don’t reign in loud-mouth idiot CEOs like Cook. Jobs never got involved in leftwing political activism, at least not publicly that I know of.
I don’t get the eagerness to declare failure before the story is told.
Oh, that can be summed up in two simple words: “click bait”.
Yep, for sure.
So, from other articles/observations around the web, the major complaints are that...
1. With previous launches, people actually left the store with the swag. It created great scenes on the street of people joyously opening their boxes or running around hold their box over their head like a trophy.
2. Apple is touting the watch as an extremely “personal” device, but the only way to get one right now is to order it online - a very impersonal way of shopping.
3. The “try one on” process feels like a letdown. a) Because some locations don’t have the correct fit in style the consumer is really looking for and b) it creates a non-impulse buy scenario.
4. There’s a bunch of complaints about the logistics being way too conservative. Something about only 200k units originally created or something. People think that the logistics will take too long to catch up to potential demand, which may temper *long term* demand.
Bottom line is that people (mostly Apple fans, actually) are asking “why would I rush down to the store to see something I can’t actually own right now?”
The thoughts I’ve read is that Apple would have been wiser to create a wide-appeal base unit that they could have put in the store, then allowed for customized options for the discriminating shopper.
Again - this is what I’ve read from the various articles where consumers are disappointed with the launch. I haven’t been near an Apple store in god-knows-how long. (I also went to a mall for the first time in, like, three months this past weekend. Like I typical guy, though, when I go to a mall, it’s with a mission for a specific purchase.) There seems to be enough of these articles to support the notion that - *COMPARATIVELY SPEAKING* - Apple has not executed this launch as well as previous launches.
Yet, there are many folks who believe Apple can do no wrong, therefore these complaints are invalid.
AKA-— The decline and fall of the once mighty CRApple. In their homo-hysterical haste they rolled out their crappy watch too soon. Taking a bite of the big Apple, don’t mind the maggots.
The world doesn't need an Apple tablet, or any other
iPod Chief Not Excited About iTunes Phone
If these naysayers are ever right in their prognostications, they'll never let us forget it.
If they're wrong, and they often are, nobody remembers/cares.
I am not sure how you can call the watch a failure....
With 2 million units pre sold at a cost of at least $350 each, you are looking at roughly $700,000,000 in revenue... in reality not everyone would have bought the cheapest option so so far they have netted over a BILLION dollars in revenue... so its hard to call the thing a flop... They have certainly more than made up all their R&D, Marketing and Production costs already.
So, even if the thing never sells another unit because those owners all decide it stinks, and no one else buys one, it can’t be considered a failure, at least fiscally.
Reality is, sales aren’t going to dry up... will it be a game changer? Who knows... but even if they never sell another one, they haven’t wound up in a worse financial position.
Actually I would say the biggest fail apple’s had in the last decade or so was probably the iPhone 5C. However, even that didn’t wind up losing them money I don’t think. They just overestimated how many people would pay for a lower end new phone vs choosing a previous version at the same price point.
So you like the concept of double taxation. . . these are funds that have ALREADY BEEN TAXED, money that these corporations OWN outright, that they earned OUTSIDE the jurisdiction of the United States governments taxing authority and paid the income taxes due under the jurisdictions under which it was earned to the countries in which it was earned. The USA is one of only TWO countries in the world that is so arrogant that it thinks it has a right to a share of the income of money earned in another nation. The other is a itty-bitty nation that as a result has no multi-national businesses.
The treat US Citizens working overseas the same way. If you work in a foreign country and pay income taxes in, say France, the IRS still wants you to pay taxes on what you earn to the US Treasury because that's what the Democrats want. Would you like that if you were DennisW, American citizen working in France and paying French income Taxes at up to a 70% tax rate and then learning you owe additional income taxes to the IRS on Income that has already been taxed?
In the case of these corporations, Apple among them, the tax hit for bringing their own money on-shore to the United States is 35% of that money. You want Apple, for example, to bring $150 Billion home to the United States, profits that have already been taxed, and pay the IRS $52.5 BILLION of it for the privilege? Then you want Apple to pay the $91.5 BILLION left over to the stockholders as dividends where it will be FURTHER taxed at 20%, but in California, that rises to 33%, so you want that further whittled down to as much as $70 BILLION. BAH! You ARE a Liberal big government, Big Tax Democrat. . . and not a conservative.
Apple has returned more capital to its stockholders than any corporation in history, having transferred more than $225 BILLION in the last three years in the form of dividends and stock buy backs, and yet you members of the Apple hate Brigade crowd are still NOT satisfied. Don't fret, that $190 BILLION plus cash and liquid assets in short term investments is reflected in the stock price of the most valuable publicly held, NGO company on Earth.
Also, Apple is investing that money in the future of Apple products. They just purchased Israeli Photographic startup LinX to improve the cameras in iPhones and iPads in future models up to the standards of near DSLR quality.
For its third acquisition in Israel, Apple has bought digital photography tech firm LinX Imaging, a small company with a big idea - improving the quality of smartphone cameras to the point where, instead of producing 'instamatic' photos, they can create SLR-quality pictures.Apple confirmed the acquisition today, but said it couldn't comment on details of the deal, while LinX could not be reached for comment. According to industry sources, the deal was worth about $25m.
The launch of the Apple Watch is not over. . . nor has it been "mismanaged" as you and the article claim. How do you manage a runaway train when the demand is far greater than expected. No one knows at this point whether Apple has "mismanaged" the roll-out or not. No other company in the world has demand for its products like Apple's product demand. . . and no other company knows how to handle the demand like Apple. Apple has learned a lot about how to handle demand and one of the ways they do that is exactly what you are seeing, allow customer pre-orders on-line to avoid huge demand on a single day at their retail stores.
It is equally amusing that someone such as article author Wayne Williams, who has never, ever managed a product roll out, or probably even a Lemonade stand, is criticizing a company that has managed the product rollouts numerous times to overwhelming product demand and concluding they are making a brand damaging botch of the job this time. . . without waiting for them to actually DO the product roll out. You can add your name to that amusement, too.
I find it amusing that you, a person who is not waiting for an Apple Watch to be delivered, is getting your panties in a wad because there is some delay in when other people are going to be able to get theirs because of the overwhelming demand. Everyone who ordered an Apple Watch did so knowing approximately when it would be delivered. They had the option to back out before pushing the ORDER BUTTON. There is no one who is being told after the fact their Apple Watch delivery is being delayed later than expected.
To quote you: "Sheesh."
LOL! You and I think in similar ways. I just finished writing a somewhat similar reply to bolobaby. . . pointing out that it isn't over yet. In fact it has barely started.
Apple is attempting to do an end run around the huge lines at the Apple Retail Stores. . . using the exact same techniques they pioneered in their Chinese rollouts of the iPhone 5s and used in China for the iPhone 6 and 6s to avoid queue riots, line-jumpers, queue space squatting and space renting, and fights for position. They required appointments and on-line ordering. It worked
In fact, it ain't over until the fat lady of profits starts her Aria. . .
PG&E is an interesting one on your list. They get slapped with a huge fine in the billions, and shrug their shoulders. Stock has steadily grown over the years, and is around 52. My wife bought at 8. I've been hearing of Apple's demise for decades. We bought Apple in the teens, and it's split a couple times since. I don't like Oprah, but a long time ago I read that when something hot comes on the market, she doesn't buy the item, she buys the stock. Why whine about a company when you can profit on it?
By the way, it is very easy to predict demand and manage accordingly. Look at what Vegas.com did with the “online gambling” product. They had no idea whether or not there would be demand for the product. So, rather than build the product then scale it to fit demand, they did something called “404 testing.” Specifically, that was to place an “online gambling” link on their site. When users clicked it, they got a “Coming Soon” page with an signup form for more information.
Two things were measured from this test: impulse interest (they clicked the link) and high intent interest (they filled out the form).
The requisite work to launch a 404 test and extrapolate demand is actually pretty low. Apple announced the watch how long ago? There has been plenty of time to use simple techniques to measure potential demand.
This is a business miss.
Finally, my panties are not in a wad. I am simply indicating what I believe they could have done better to manage this product roll out. In some cases, I was echoing sentiments read elsewhere and indicated such. I acknowledged they are normally very good at this thing, but think they made a misstep here. For this simple observation, I have garnered a pejorative characterization of having “my panties in a wad.” This is probably something you would not have included in your prior “analysis” of Windows insults vs Apple insults. I would.
What are the chances that it’s not Apple underestimating demand, but scalpers over-estimating it?
If you believe that Apple made only 200,000 Apple Watches for a world-wide roll out of a product they've been preparing for since announcing it in September, I have this great bridge for sale in Brooklyn you might be interested in buying. Do you believe everything FUD written about Apple? Apple would NEVER move forward with a roll out with only 200K of a product on hand. That would be insane.
Apple would not even embark on a product with such a low target number.
3. The “try one on” process feels like a letdown. a) Because some locations don’t have the correct fit in style the consumer is really looking for and b) it creates a non-impulse buy scenario.
REALLY? The only Apple Watch that is not available at every Apple Store is the Apple Watch Edition which is available only in specific store locations. That is probably understandable for an item selling for $10,000 to $17,000 and up. Every other store has every other model available for trial fitting and every band style to swap out on the watches. . . so that any model variation can be provided to try-on within seconds. Again, you are making up Straw Man arguments or your sources are. That makes them essentially FUD articles if you are quoting an article from some source. . . but you never provide a link to any of your points.
Bottom line is that people (mostly Apple fans, actually) are asking “why would I rush down to the store to see something I can’t actually own right now?”
Exactly WHERE are these "Apple fans" you quote? They can go see the Apple Watch and there are lines at the store to see the Apple Watch, even if they cannot have an appointment to touch one. I think you are literally making up your "facts" as you type.
There is another aspect of the Apple Watch to consider. It is not a product that lends itself to being examined by a shopper without supervision. Like any piece of personal jewelry one wears, to be able to hold one or try it on, requires attendance of a salesperson to make sure it doesn't walk away. . . or it must just be seen inside a locked case. It is the highest consumer contact sale intensive product Apple has ever attempted to sell and requires one-on-one attention of their staff. The Apple Watch can only be displayed in a locked case, to be removed on request, on at a time. All other products can be placed on Apple's famous wooden tables, cabled down but operational, to be picked up and played with and tried out before purchase.
The thoughts I’ve read is that Apple would have been wiser to create a wide-appeal base unit that they could have put in the store, then allowed for customized options for the discriminating shopper.
Excuse me? Do you even understand what the Apple Watch is? How it works? I don't think you do. There are three basic models, and two sizes in each of those basic models. There are also two colors of finish in each of them. From those basic limitations you can mix and match bands, sizes of watch etc.
How much MORE customization do you want, or can Apple provide???
There seems to be enough of these articles to support the notion that - *COMPARATIVELY SPEAKING* - Apple has not executed this launch as well as previous launches.
What part of the Apple Watch has not yet launched do you fail to understand. That will occur next Friday, on April 24th, one week from today. Only after that date, can anyone start to say the "Apple Watch LAUNCH has failed." What has happened so far is that pre-Launch sale orders are being taken, but the Apple Watch is not yet being offered for actual sale where any buyer can take one home.
Some of these same FUD spreaders were claiming the same things in the two weeks leading up to the release of the Apple iPhone 6 and 6 plus, because the pre-orders were showing that deliveries were going into weeks after the official "Launch Date" and they claimed Apple would have none available at the Apple Stores for buyers on Launch day. I got mine at an AT&T store by walking in on launch day and waiting 20 minutes. . . and my girlfriend got hers at an Apple Store on day two by waiting in line with me. Gee, they had plenty of stock at the stores. Some models, such as the Gold iPhone 6 plus, became unavailable late in the day on each day. . . but were resupplied by the next day. My girlfriend got the second to last iPhone 6 gold 64 GB on the second day.
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