The Mac Observer

Skip navigational links

DealsOnTheWeb Daily Deal: OneCall's Weekend Sale - 20 Great Items at Great Prices All Weekend Long

Dell, Fry's, Micro Center All Sign Back Up With Apple

by , 1:00 PM EDT, April 16th, 2003

The rift between some retailers and Apple has begun to close, according to C|Net. The rift made itself known earlier this month when it was reported that Dell, Target, Fry's Electronics, Micro Center, and other prominent retailers had refused to sign a new reseller agreement with Apple. Though Apple later down played these resellers as only contributing 1.5% of Apple's 2002 sales, more than US$86 million according to TMO's math, it would seem the company went back to negotiating anyway. From the C|Net story:

Among the holdouts that have reached a pact with Apple are Dell Computer and regional computer sellers Fry's Electronics and Micro Center, according to a source familiar with the situation. As of Wednesday morning, the iPod had not reappeared on Dell's site, but a Dell representative confirmed that the Apple music players should be available again shortly.

Although some resellers have still not signed Apple's new contract, Apple said the amount of sales represented by such dealers had dropped significantly.

In a statement to CNET News.com, Apple said that those resellers that have not yet signed deals represented 0.3 percent of Apple's sales in fiscal 2002. A week ago, the resellers that had not signed accounted for roughly 1.5 percent.

At 0.3% of 2002's sales, the holdout retailers still represent some US$17.2 million. Note that Target is not listed as one of the resellers back on board with Apple. You can find more information in the full C|Net story.

The Mac Observer Spin:

Oh, to be a fly on the wall in the negotiations between Apple and Dell. Actually, any of these negotiations would be a rather tasty affair, but it's doubtful that we will find out any time soon what sort of give and take there was between the parties.

Be that as it may, it is a very, very good thing that Apple has been able to find agreement with these retailers, especially Dell, Fry's, and Micro Center. Each of these companies offers exposure to Apple's products that the company would not otherwise have. Fry's and Microcenter both have outlets in markets not serviced by an Apple Store retail location. Dell, of course, shows the iPod to the biggest market of all, the Wintel market, from within one of the biggest chunks of that market, Dell's own.

Remember that though these resellers represented some 1.5% of Apple's 2002 sales, a huge number in reality, Dell only began selling iPods in October of 2002, which wasn't a part of Apple's fiscal year. That means Dell's chunk of that missing 1.5% actually represents a much, much larger share of Apple's revenue than it might seem. Dell is a very important retailing partner for Apple when it comes to the iPod on the Windows side.

Observer Comments

Show: Subjects Only | Full Comments
Comment on this Article

Log in | Register | Having Problems? Reset TMO Cookies & Try Again
Username:   Password:   Log me on automatically each visit   

You are not logged in, and this post will appear as "Guest." Log in with your username and password from the TMO forums. If you do not have a username, you can register here.
Please note that guests are limited to including a maximum of two URLs per post.


Post A Comment
  Subject


  Your Comments



Please enter the word exactly as you see it in the image above. Registered users aren't prompted for this. Having trouble reading the image get a new one.


Recent Headlines - Updated Friday, July 4th, 2008

Fri., 7:30 AM
Happy Fourth of July!
Thu., 4:50 PM
Apple Slashes $400 from SSD Drive in MacBook Air
4:05 PM
It's Official - Firefox Sets Guinness Record for Downloads
3:30 PM
Apple Files Patent for a Multi-touch Gesture Language
2:20 PM
Editorial - Mac's Market Share and the Cascade Failure of Windows
1:35 PM
iPodObserver - Apple Slurps Up Samsung's NAND Flash for iPhone 3G
1:05 PM
WSJ: Tips for Switching from Windows to Mac
12:05 PM
iPodObserver - Google Intros Google Talk for iPhone
11:35 AM
iPO Just a Thought - iPod nano Versus iPhone: Decisons, Decisions...
10:55 AM
YouTube Ordered to Turn Over All User Records to Viacom
10:10 AM
Hot Forum Topic - Apple vs. Cell Carriers: Who's Winning the Game
9:25 AM
iPodObserver - Rumor: Best Buy, Radio Shack to Sell iPhone 3G
8:45 AM
.Mac Bookmark Sync Deadline Extended to July 6
8:10 AM
Adobe Reader 9 Hits the Streets
 

The Mac Observer Reader Specials

  • Special Report: WWDC 2008
  • Special Report: iPhone
  • __________
  • Help TMO Grow
  • Podcast: Mac Geek Gab
  • Podcast: Apple Weekly Report
  • TMO on Twitter!
  • New Media Expo 2008

Apple Stock Quote

  • AAPL: $170.12. Change Today: +1.94.
  • (Prices delayed up to 20 minutes.)
  • Discuss in our Apple Finance Board

Hot Topics

Top Deals From DealsOnTheWeb