Carphone Warehouse won’t offer the Apple Watch upon launch

Apple wants to limit the watch’s availability to exclusive stores and shops

Graham Stapleton, CEO of UK’s biggest cellphone retailer Carphone Warehouse, has revealed to Telegraph that it has unfortunately not been given the chance to offer the Apple Watch for sale when it launches on April 24th. This might sound pretty unfortunate for the retailer but it makes sense why Apple would want to limit the availability to its own official stores. It has been confirmed that upon launch the Apple Watch is going to be confined to the Apple Stores and dedicated Apple Watch shops only.

Graham Stapleton said, “We would love to be able to stock the Apple Watch. I’ve got to be careful what I say but I think they are just going another way with it. We have not been given the opportunity.”

Best Buy is just another example who has been left disappointed after Apple denied it access for the offering of the watch. Rumor has it that the lucky fashion retailer Nordstrom was approached by the Cupertino giant itself and was asked to carry the Apple Watch. This makes quite some sense now because Apple is trying to deliver its message loud and clear that its Apple Watch is meant more as a fashion accessory and less as a high tech gadget. So far, this is exactly what we have perceived the watch to be thanks to its effective marketing campaign.

Apple wants its watch to be offered with exclusivity and give out the vibes of an up-market product for which it has set up dedicated Watch shops at high-end department stores in London, Paris and Japan. The stores are directly being managed by Apple itself because the idea is to keep the markups as close to the company as possible.

The stores are apparently also going through an overhaul as Apple is making sure that it removes all products, such as fitness bands, which can be a competition for the upcoming Watch. Another interesting rumor has also emerged which says that potential customers can try on the Apple Watch inside the store and they can then order it online.