One of the biggest unknowns about the Apple Watch — and something we’re hopefully just an hour away from learning — is just how Apple plans to sell its first ever wearables device.
Is the Apple Watch going to be an Apple Store exclusive, giving more of a reason to visit your local store than ever, or will it be like the iPhone and therefore available for sale in a number of third-party retailers?
According to Reuters, retailers Best Buy, Macy’s, Saks 5th Avenue, Bloomingdales and Barney’s all have no plans to carry Apple smartwatch — although upscale fashion retailer Nordstrom is reportedly in discussions to be an Apple Watch purveyor.
There are plenty of reasons why Apple would want to be cautious about the way the Apple Watch is sold — not least the fact that by controlling the selling process it can ensure that staff are all properly trained to answer questions about the device.
Although I’d be very surprised if, long-term, Apple Stores were one of the only places to buy an Apple Watch, in the short-term it does make sense for Apple to pick its partners carefully.
As a fashion retailer, Nordstrom fits into the way Apple has thus far chosen to market the device — which has included plenty of press in the fashion pages of magazines like Vogue. The Apple Watch’s first public showing outside of an Apple event was at Paris Fashion Week, and it seems the company is looking to embrace that same ethos when it comes to selling the device.
Given how pitiful the sales attempts of many of Apple’s rivals have been when it comes to wearables, it makes perfect sense that Apple, with the Apple Watch, would choose to *ahem* think different about retail opportunities.
