Best Buy CEO Hubert Joly today told Wall Street analysts that demand for the Apple Watch has been so strong that the electronics retailer plans to be selling the wearable device in all 1,050 retail locations across the United States by the end of September.
Initially, Best Buy had planned to have watches in 300 stores by the holiday season. (It started selling the watches in early August.) Apple did not provide specific sales numbers for the watch in its second-quarter earnings last month, but Best Buy’s comments provide more evidence of the device’s success.
Best Buy is not only expanding sales of the Apple Watch to the entire U.S. chain, it is also updating its Apple Shop-in-a-Shops that are located in 740 locations, updating the fixtures, and adding more display tables for Apple’s iPhones, iPads, and Mac computers. Joly says the updates are in place in 350 stores, with another 170 locations to be updated in time for the holiday season.
Joly also said that Best Buy will begin selling AppleCare product service and support this quarter, and will begin testing as an authorized Apple service provider at 50 stores.
