Some analysts say strength of BlackBerry Z10 sales due to low supply

Immediately after the launch of the BlackBerry Z10 in the U.K. came word that sales of the new model were strong and that the white variant of the all-touch model had sold out while the black device was hard to find in stock. Reports of strong sales continued when the device launched in Canada on Tuesday. But even some analysts who are excited about the Z10's hot start in the U.K. and Canada are negating the news by saying that the demand for the device is overstated due to low volume in the sales channel. RBC Capital analyst Mark Sue at first sounds extremely bullish on the Z10 sales. In a note to clients that went out to clients today, Sue said that sales at the 40 Canadian stores that he tracks were strong with some stores selling out by the end of the day.

While that all sounds good, Sue tempers the optimism by saying that the stores told him that their inventories of the BlackBerry Z10 were low. According to Sue, each store was given 5 to 10 units for walk-ins and 20 to 30 for pre-orders. Then Sue shifted back into bull mode again to claim that the U.K. launch had exceeded RIM's expectations and that the Z10 was #4 on uSwitch UK’s website ahead of the Google Nexus 4 and the Nokia Lumia 920 (the Apple iPhone 5 remains on top).


T. Michael Walkley of Canaccord Genuity took the air out of the balloon when he also confirmed the strong U.K.sales, but said that they were due to low volume of initial inventory that stores received. He says that most stores received less than 15 units and sold out of most of that stock in the first 2 to 3 days leading to sellouts at some locations and low inventory levels at others.


James Faucette of Pacific Crest says that BlackBerry has used a strategy of making the phone scarce on purpose in order to guarantee sellouts, thus negating the positive aspects of the sellouts that the BlackBerry Z10 has been experiencing.

All three analysts say that despite the early success of the BlackBerry Z10, the company's still has its hardest work in front of them.

There is no denying that there is a buzz around BlackBerry now, something that hasn't been there since 2007. And whether or not inventories have been deliberately kept low by Waterloo, the buzz that has been created could help drive sales in the all-important U.S. market. That is where the money lies. Looking at it that way, BlackBerry has certainly achieved its goal of getting everyone talking about its new phones while the delay of the U.S.launch until late March gives the company a chance to not only get U.S. consumers hyped-up about BlackBerry 10, but also gives them the chance to build sufficient quantity of the Z10.

source: BGR