Comments on: Analyst: Wal-Mart looking to sell Macs

An analyst says the Wal-Mart electronics makeover could be a move to persuade Apple to sell Macs through the retailer.

[Orion Blastar]

Well at one time Sam's Club sold PowerPC based iMacs, but somehow that didn't work out right.

Now Wal-Mart is trying it again with Wal-Mart this time. But Apple prohibits Apple dealers from underselling the Apple web site prices. So Wal-Mart cannot undercut Apple's prices, but they might throw in a printer or something else to make a bundle and then discount the bundle. Maybe buy an iMac and get a free iPod or something.

[terminalblue]

but this isnt about pricing so much as exposure...walmarts hug customer base might not see the Value of apple products, but its few elitist customers will buy them just to buck the system and walmart employees should have an easier time selling apples "all in one" packages.

If apple enters walmart, it will be on a VERY tightly controlled basis. most likely they will operate as a pay per scan vendor (the way coke and pepsi sell their products is to ship the merchandise to the store, then when the item is sold, the vendor pays for the store for the shelf space). Walmarts around the country have have HUGE shrink with their ipod merchandise, apple doesnt want a gray market of their flagship computer.

[Seaspray0]

It didn't work out because the apple could not compete against the PC's in a store dedicated to shoppers looking for a bargain. We're talking about people who will buy in bulk to save pennies. I give a linux computer better odds of selling at walmart.

[pentest]

Walmart shoppers don't mind overpaying for extremely low quality.

What they detest is paying a little more for high quality.

[Vegaman_Dan]

@Seaspray0:

"I give a linux computer better odds of selling at walmart. "

Walmart has tried twice to sell Linux based PC's and had to pull them from the shelves both times due to lack of sale and a high return rate of those that were sold. It was hard for Walmart to propely identify that the linux computers sold there could not run the software that the store had on the shelves. Yes, you could run them in emulation, but you had to be a geek to know that and that's not what Walmart customers are expected to be. :/

[Seaspray0]

@Dan. I know. I didn't say Linux would sell, I just gave it a better probability of selling than apple's computers at walmart.

[pentest]

Exactly Dan! Wal-mart customers is also MS's customer base: morons.

[Angmarr]

"we believe that the mega-retailer could eventually earn the right to sell select Mac products without diluting Apple's brand"

wow self absorbed much? AND
more like if apple goes down this road there will be price cuts .. Wal-Mart has that type of muscle! .... but hey thats great for consumers ... would be bad for Microsoft .... if it happens!

[ewelch]

Yeah, with all their power and leverage, they have been able to sell the iPhone for, what, $1 less? And then they only get the 8 gig model. Apple doesn't supply them with the 16 gig model.

No way will Apple allow Wal Mart to sell Macs.

[georgiarat]

I agree that iPhone and similar products are the future of Apple but as long as they are tethered only to AT&T I do not see growth against the market being very realistic. Apple needs to broaden its potential impact much as they did with the ipod.

[mishmash0101]

What? AT&T has been taking over a million customers per Quarter away from the other cell phone companies due solely to the iPhone and this will only increase this summer when the iPhone Ver 3.0 software comes out generating the next round of iPhone mania. At this rate, Verizon, Sprint, etc will lose 25% of their customers to AT&T and the iPhone by 2012. And even more important is that each new iPhone customer typically ends up paying MORE to AT&T than they did to their previous cell phone company because of the inclusion of a data plan, thus making AT&T the highest ranking cell phone company today in $/customer.

[viper396]

@mishmash010, georgiarat simply saying that so long as Apple ties themselves to AT&T there is a huge market share that they are excluding. That's simple logic, why are you disputing it?

There is no doubt that some people have switched cell provider because of the iPhone but do you really think every cell phone user is going to do that? Do you actually think Verizon, Sprint, etc will just stand still and do nothing while their customers migrate? In fact that best selling phone from last quarter wasn't even the iPod, it was the BlackBerry Storm on Verizon, which was their response to the iPhone. 25%?... Please, you're just wishing.

[myles taylor]

@viper396 I agree with your post but must make one correction. I believe the Blackberry Pearl (possible I'm wrong there, but it wasn't the Storm) was the best selling smartphone. I know it wasn't the Storm, which has never been the #1 phone.

[La_Mont]

Perhaps Wal-Mart would enjoy a bit of apple margin. Perhaps Wal-Mart wants to do some upscale electronics: tv and audio components included. No business that stands still last forever.

[kcotham]

I doubt it will ever happen. Apple's whole reason for having Apple Stores is because of the fiasco that was their retailing efforts of the late 90's and early 2000's. Apple could not count on retailers presenting their hardware in an adequate way. Sales staff is usually painfully ignorant of Apple computers and Mac OS X in big box retailers. Wal-mart would only exacerbate this problem. Ever have a technical question about any electronics at Wal-mart? Wal-mart does not pay enough money to attract knowledgeable sales staff. (There are exceptions, but this is generally true.) A good example of what goes wrong is any Circuit City that sold Macintoshes. Sales staff was totally ignorant of the machines. There was actually a marketing company that sent people around to train the sales staff of these stores, and to make sure the display machines were properly maintained. Circuit City was incapable of doing this on their own. This is why Apple Stores exist people.

What they MAY do is allow Macintoshes to be sold on walmart.com. That avoids the problems of properly displaying the computers and training staff to demonstrate them.

[MagiMamoru]

I'll have to agree as one of those rare knowledgeable WalMart associates. I'm simply not comfortable saleing anything I have not played with or learned. I'm not going to put my self through that expense, let alone time, or space. I might consider it if I had a legal way to emulate MacDos on my existing gear legally with tech support. How I long for the days of AmigaDOS, or Lynix, but I need to know what my customers don't so I keep it simple.

[Seaspray0]

I agree. Walmart is not known for having sales people who are knowledable in the products they sell.

[La_Mont]

I do tons of research before I buy any electronic equipment, so I never ask the sales people anything. I totally inform myself. I calibrate my plasma and lcd televisions. I reboot my computer when I screw it up. I am no geek, but I guess I am not the average person who is too lazy to learn or afraid of the things that I buy. My motto is " If it can be done, I can do it." Online magazines, forums and blogs totally dissect all of apple's products within one day of their availablity. What is there to ask a sales person? Can you carry it to my car?

[myles taylor]

This is the standard at Walmart but Apple would keep a tight hold on this. They would require the salespeople be Apple trained and follow a strict set of guidelines.

[pentest]

Best Buy doesn't have higher quality in its sales staff than wal mart has. Yet, Apple allows them to be sold there.

[sanjayb]

Usually at Best Buy there is an Apple trained dude that handles all the Mac questions. They even wear a different coloured shirt.

[sciontcya]

As a shareholder, NO, PLEASE NO Apple!
I despise WallyMart and the further Apple stays away from there, the better.

[Kyanar]

Your personal likes and dislikes do not determine the direction the company goes in. Get over it. If they see this as a move that increases revenue, then it's pretty much a given that they'll do it. However, they do consider their brand an asset so it goes without saying that if they see it as a risk to the brand's value, it wont happen.

[The_happy_switcher]

As a shareholder I say whatever adds to the bottom line is a good thing.

[terminalblue]

but as a shareholder, your concern inst just about the bottom line, its about maintaining the exclusivity of the brand...which is next to impossible to do at a walmart.

apple will NEVER let their product in the same shopping cart as diapers and condoms.

[ofmyony]

A Windows 7 only option on the Mac with a redesigned keyboard. Now talk about selling some computers. Apple hardware running Windows only, would be a great seller. Apple should allow Windows only as an option. If Apple truly wants to increase shareholder value they will offer a Windows only option. I see no reason not to, Windows 7 is a great OS maybe the best OS ever, Apple would be wise to offer this option to windows users. If they don't Apple will see market share worsen and PC manufactures thrive.

[sciontcya]

What, 2 shares? Otherwise, you'd see it's a ****-poor move, if made.
Won't happen.
It's a waste even in a Best Buy...

[tm_anon]

@ofmyony

Tell me, was Windows 7 designed specifically with Apple hardware in mind? Was it designed to be beautiful? Was it designed to make the user happy every time the machine is booted up?

I know, these things can be disputed but OS X was designed with them in mind.

Now, as for calling Windows 7 the "best OS ever", if you really believe that, why are you commenting on an article with Apple in the name instead of Windows?

[joetesta70]

Great - crap selling crap.

[The_happy_switcher]

You sound like an expert on using crap--an experienced windows user.

[baconstang]

They already sell PC crap. Wal-Mart does not seem like the right outlet for Macs.

[Seaspray0]

Excuse me while I flush joetesta70's comments. That's where they belong.

[ofmyony]

I think this is an attempt for Wal-mart to change its brand. Wal-mart is not going to discount any Apple products that will be Apple's decision. Apple products will be priced the same through all its outlets.

Wal-mart is definitely going after Best Buy. I have seen an updated Wal-mart store with dedicated areas for cell phones and computers and televisions. Best Buy is in trouble, Wal-mart is serious about upgrading its image and what I have seen so far, Wal-mart will be superior in design and implementation. The upgraded areas are light wood grained, brightly lit with glass inspired trim. They are open areas with lots of room and prominently displayed. I have been at a newly opened Best Buy and their stores are dark and uninviting. The new Wal-mart areas are designed with Apple in mind. Bright and futuristic looking. I think anyone visiting one of these new areas will be impressed and will have second thoughts of visiting Best Buy anytime soon.

[Seaspray0]

But then they fill the rest of the store with poor quality c**p made in china. What country makes the product can be a better indicator of quality than who makes it.

[darkebinary]

^^ You mean like the iPod?

[baconstang]

Yeah, most Apple stuff is assembled in China. But it would take more than 'light wood' to get me into a Mall-Wart.

[forever4now]

Wal-Mart gets an image boost and Apple gets broader exposure and a potential volume sales boost. As long as Wal-Mart creates a more "exclusive" section in their store, for these types of products, it sounds like a win/win.

If customers need a more detailed explanation of the products than a Wal-Mart rep can give them, then they can go to Apple's website or to an Apple store. Who knows? Maybe Apple would even produce a special video that Wal-Mart shoppers could watch, to get a better understanding of the products.

[bevoholic]

I would go to Best Buy without ever a second thought about heading to Wal-Mart.

Best Buy > Wal-Mart, by a huge margin.

[tonyscida]

"But then again, does Apple really need to do that? Apple's market share in North America stands at about 7.5 percent, and there's arguably not a lot of opportunity to increase that in any significant way."

I'd love to hear the actual argument that they can't increase their market share in any significant way (rather than it being in there as just an assumption). Perhaps in a future article?

[databrain]

wow walmart selling macs? whats next? walmart selling prada, Rolex, Chanel or Gucci?

[Mergatroid Mania]

More like "what's next, Walmart selling Lada".

[Mergatroid Mania]

Pure speculation, not a gram of evedince.

[kcotham]

As is per usual with analysts and with recent CNET stories.

[technewsjunkie]

Wow, Macs at Wallmart. Must mean they are affordable.

[Thomas, David]

WHY?

[tanis143]

Wow, all those people who bash Wal-Mart and say the Mac is all that. *shakes his head* Lets get this straight people.... the Mac is nothing more than an intel pc running a unix o/s. Nothing special. I could build a better machine with a spiffier (Ubuntu) o/s for 1/4 the cost. Mac fanboi's need to get over themselves. They are worse than small package men buying corvettes.

[BtmnHatesRbn]

Think before you compose a comment. It helps when you have facts. You don't. Cite sources if you feel you have facts. Three sources per fact, with three sources backing up each source thereof.

[divide_by_zero]

What is there to cite?

Yeah, I don't think there's is any research that correlates ***** size to vehicle preference. So that is just speculation. I would be inclined to agree with him though... I mean, someone is buying Hummers.

[pentest]

"we believe that the mega-retailer could eventually earn the right to sell select Mac products without diluting Apple's brand"

Tell that to Levi.

[dnmakinson]

Seaspray0: "But then they fill the rest of the store with poor quality c**p made in china. What country makes the product can be a better indicator of quality than who makes it."

Macs are built in China.

[kcotham]

China yes, but not the People's Republic of China (communist mainland). They are made by Quanta for the most part. Quanta is a Taiwanese company. So when they say "made in China", it really means "made in the Republic of China (Taiwan).

[mbenedict]

@kcotham: that's INCORRECT. Most of Apple's products (including unibody Macbooks) are made in PRC China ("communist mainland" as you put it), NOT in Taiwan.

Although Quanta (and Foxconn, etc.) are Taiwanese companies, most of THEIR factories are in mainland China, not in Taiwan. Quanta in particular has its two largest factories in Shanghai and Changshu. They've been manufacturing out of mainland China for almost 10 years now.

You can tell where a Mac was manufactured by looking at the first couple digits of the serial number. If it begins with W8, YM or 4H then it's made in mainland China (e.g., W8 == Shanghai factory.) Quanta Taiwan manufactured ones start with QT.

[seven7dust]

made in china doesnt mean anything
BMWs and Audis are made their too
it depends on the brand and customer surveys for years
have shown that Macs are top dog !

[mbenedict]

@seven7dust: I can tell you first-hand how crappy the vehicles designed & produced by BMW's Chinese partner (Brilliance) really are, at this point in time. Many of these cars score very poorly in safety tests, and might not even be legal if they were to be sold in Germany.

At the BMW China's Shenyang factory, most of the Chinese parts are simply not up to quality standards, that the vast majority of parts for the 3- and 5- series have to be imported. So the BMW China factory is more or less simply an assembly plant for foreign-manufactured parts.

Even then, the quality of the cars produced by BMW China isn't the same as the German-made cars. Hence all cars made by BMW China are only to be sold to the local, less-discriminating market.

Someday I'm sure the quality of Chinese components will be acceptable for the luxury segment, but we're a long, long(!) away from that point.

About the only German car manufacturer which produces cars using high local content is Volkswagen. But then they produce a lot of crappy cars anyway.

Unlike the car manufacturers, Apple doesn't even have their own factory in China, but rely on contracts with the cheapest third-parties like Foxconn. Some of their plants are literally just one step above sweat-shop conditions.

[kcotham]

@mbenedict

There are like 5 companies making just about all the computers in the world. I recently read Quanta is now making about one third of all notebook computers worldwide.

I personally would like to see these machines made in the USA or Europe, but South-east Asia, specifically China, has cornered the market with their cheap labour. Do you know of any manufacturer making computers in the US? I mean actually making them here, not just assembling a few Chinese made parts. I'd seriously like to know.

[AaronKempf]

wow.. uh.. isn't the mac literally irrelevent? They've had an awful year in market share.. I'm glad that MS finally is winning the marketing war.. It's nice. Windows kicks butt!

I mean, AT&T just agreed to sell three different brands of netbooks, I thought that Windows XP on a netbook won the whole iPhone / Mac war ROFL

So now _WHY_ would WalMart want to sell a product that has declined in sales by 20% each month for the past 6 months?

And whatever happened to MS agreeing to open retail stores, I can't wait for that!!

[kcotham]

No, not irrelevant at all. Apple is the only reason Microsoft isn't still making something that looks like DOS or Windows 3.