The Channel Checkers » 2007 » January http://www.thechannelcheckers.com Institutionalized, large scale channel checks for fundamental stock research Wed, 02 Jul 2008 17:48:50 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.2 en More Mayhem in Apple Retail Channel? http://www.thechannelcheckers.com/2007/01/more-mayhem-in-apple-retail-channel/ http://www.thechannelcheckers.com/2007/01/more-mayhem-in-apple-retail-channel/#comments Tue, 23 Jan 2007 22:34:44 +0000 Casey http://www.thechannelcheckers.com/2007/01/more-mayhem-in-apple-retail-channel/ So a helpful comment from a reader says that using Google Base we can find 8GB Ipod Nano’s for $105 versus the Apple suggested price of $249 enforced across the big chains.While Google Base sells cheaper iPod’s the volumes across that channel will not big. The real question seems to be will Google Base and other sites force the main-line retailers and Apple themseves to cut prices on iPod’s significantly in coming weeks or months.

We’ll keep working to find out.

Just some more food for thought.

]]> http://www.thechannelcheckers.com/2007/01/more-mayhem-in-apple-retail-channel/feed/ Apple Losing Control of the Retail Channel? http://www.thechannelcheckers.com/2007/01/apple-losing-control-of-the-retail-channel/ http://www.thechannelcheckers.com/2007/01/apple-losing-control-of-the-retail-channel/#comments Tue, 23 Jan 2007 22:33:38 +0000 Casey http://www.thechannelcheckers.com/2007/01/apple-losing-control-of-the-retail-channel/ Apple has done more things right than create new product categories and consumer friendly computers. We just completed a survey after Apple’s dissapointing financial forecast that pointed to lower earnings than Wall Street expected for the March quarter.We ran a quick survey check of prices on the Apple 80GB iPod. A simple search reveals that on the Apple.com web site that 80GB iPod’s sell for $349. This $349 price is fairly firm across most major U.S. retailers, at least on their web sites, including Best Buy ($349), Amazon ($339) and Target ($349.99). To us this pricing consistency is a key to Apple’s strong margins and profitability in its iPod line.

Our survey thoug revealed some cracks in this sea of retailing discipline for Apple. We found products listed as “New” 80GB Apple iPods for substantially less than $349 or even $339. Are these approved Apple re-sellers? The first source for cheap 80Gb iPods came from Google base, where $250 and $242 were the going rates for new Apple 80GB iPods. We also found discounted 80Gb iPods at Onsale.com for as low as $308.

We don’t think our web price searching says too much about Apple’s prospects but we do think it shows that pricing in the distribution channel is becoming somewhat disorderly which could lead to more dramatic price cuts in the future on iPod products from Apple.

]]> http://www.thechannelcheckers.com/2007/01/apple-losing-control-of-the-retail-channel/feed/ E-Mail on Cellphones Grows; GMail for Mobile Strong Among Retailers. http://www.thechannelcheckers.com/2007/01/e-mail-on-cellphones-grows-gmail-for-mobile-strong-among-retailers/ http://www.thechannelcheckers.com/2007/01/e-mail-on-cellphones-grows-gmail-for-mobile-strong-among-retailers/#comments Wed, 03 Jan 2007 22:32:19 +0000 Casey http://www.thechannelcheckers.com/2007/01/e-mail-on-cellphones-grows-gmail-for-mobile-strong-among-retailers/ We have completed our first survey of the year on mobile e-mail for personal use (as opposed to corporate solutions) and found that Blackberry devices from Research In Motion (RIMM) are the most recommended devices while Gmail from Google (GOOG) was the most often recommended e-mail solution, primarily because the solution is free to the user with a wireless data plan.We surveyed North American and European wireless carrier stores. We asked if mobile e-mail was an option, how much it costs and which device the respondent would recommend for e-mail users. our survey respondents are skewed towards North America where 90% of our responses came from while 10% come from Western Europe. In North America our break-down between the big four carriers (Verizon, Cingular, Sprint, T-Mobile) is close to even.

Almost every wireless carrier representative said that e-mail was growing in terms of consumer interest and demand. Most phones seem to be web capable and by extension capable of receiving mobile e-mail from a variety of e-mail solutions including HotMail, MSN, Yahoo, AOL, Google and corporate solutions using Microsoft Outlook.

The best devices to buy to optimize the mobile e-mail experience according to our survey respondents were the following:

Blackberry devices (Generally, no specific models were mentioned) from Research In Motion - 28%

Motorola Q - 16%

Palm Treo 700p - 8%

Cingular 8525 - 8%

Sprint PPC-6700 - 8%

LG Chocolate - 4%

LG Envy - 4%

Not mentioned widely in our survey but apparently selling very well is the Sidekick 3 from Danger that is sold exclusively through T-Mobile. Some T-Mobile respondents reported that this phone was out of stock and was the most popular for consumers looking to use e-mail and text messaging.
Mobile e-mail appears to be growing and the need for a data plan to access e-mail (even if it is a free service like gmail) bodes well for wireless carriers and their propspects for increasing data usage on cell phones.

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