Best Buy Set to Become the USA’s First Independent iPhone Retailer
August 13, 2008 by Erik MacKinnon
September 7th is the date – Best Buy has confirmed that it will launch the Apple iPhone 3G to 986 of its stores. Here’s the official press release (thanks to the AP)
“We had a lot of work to do, obviously, to get in a position where Apple and AT&T would feel good about Best Buy Mobile carrying it, and that’s what we’ve done in the last 18 months,” said Shawn Score, president of Best Buy Mobile.
Best Buy also resells Apple’s Mac computers and iPod media players. Apple spokeswoman Natalie Kerris said the long-standing relationship between the companies was the reason Best Buy would now be able to sell the iPhone.
Last week, Best Buy announced it had completed a two-year conversion of its stores to include upgraded cell-phone departments under the Best Buy Mobile brand. It has upgraded its computer systems to handle cell-phone activation and spent 250,000 hours training its employees.
Score said Best Buy Mobile, which resells phone service under the carriers’ brands, now has a 3.6 percent share of the cell-phone market, up from 2 percent last year. It is a joint venture with CarPhone Warehouse Group PLC, which sells the iPhone in Britain and is Europe’s largest cell-phone retailer.
It’s great to see mass-market retailers picking up the iPhone – which was virtually a niche product until the massive launch of the iPhone 3G. Best Buy likely won’t make a whole lot on the phones themselves – but they will sell a ton of overpriced accessories and make some commission money from AT&T when signing people up for new plans.
What do you think – good thing or bad that Best Buy and other large retailers will be carrying the iPhone? Let us know in the comments.
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Wow, that’s interesting. Apple really is trying to dominate the phone world, haha. Still to me, there is nothing better than going into the Apple store and getting your computer or iPhone