Click to Skip Ad
Closing in...

BlackBerry Z10 sell-through may already be slumping

Published Mar 6th, 2013 5:05PM EST
BlackBerry Z10 Sales

If you buy through a BGR link, we may earn an affiliate commission, helping support our expert product labs.

Sales of BlackBerry’s (BBRY) new flagship BlackBerry Z10 smartphone are reportedly slumping in the United Kingdom after having gotten off to what appeared to be a strong start. Following up a note from last month that cast doubt on the likelihood of BlackBerry returning to sustained profitability, Pacific Crest analyst James Faucette claimed in a recent note to investors that Z10 inventory is building up across UK sales channels.

“Our checks indicate that as sell-through run-rates for the Z10 have declined meaningfully in the weeks following launch, we believe carriers and third-party retailers in the U.K. are already well above typically targeted inventory levels,” the analyst wrote in a note picked up by Forbes. “Canadian carrier stores and retailers also appear to be rapidly approaching targeted levels, in our view.”

He also voiced concern over the recent Z10 price cuts at Carphone Warehouse and other retailers.

“We continue to believe that the company likely shipped roughly 275,000 to 325,000 Z10s in the February quarter for the U.K. and Canadian markets,” Faucette wrote. “Further, we estimate that the company is likely to ship one to two million units in the May quarter, with sell-through likely well below that figure. As such, we believe optimism around BBRY is overdone at current levels and would remain sellers.”

Zach Epstein
Zach Epstein Executive Editor

Zach Epstein has been the Executive Editor at BGR for more than 10 years. He manages BGR’s editorial team and ensures that best practices are adhered to. He also oversees the Ecommerce team and directs the daily flow of all content. Zach first joined BGR in 2007 as a Staff Writer covering business, technology, and entertainment.

His work has been quoted by countless top news organizations, and he was recently named one of the world's top 10 “power mobile influencers” by Forbes. Prior to BGR, Zach worked as an executive in marketing and business development with two private telcos.