When Apple held its Spring Forward event back in early March, it set the expectation that the Apple Watch would land in Apple Stores in late April. Weeks later, Apple has yet to begin selling its smartwatch in its stores. Recent rumours suggested that the production challenges that delayed its plans have been resolved and that sales would start in stores sometime this month. Two new reports are today giving these rumours new credence.
According to 9to5Mac, retail employees were told today via a private video message that distribution of training materials for the retail launch has resumed. In it, Apple Senior Vice President of Retail and Online Stores Angela Ahrendts tells them that “this is where the rubber hits the road, and now we need to make sure that we are above and beyond ready.” Vice President of Retail Operations Jim Bean adds that “It’s going to be a little tougher to get everyone the exact [Watch] that they want.” To do so, Apple will use a “Reserve and Pickup” system where customers will be able to visit the Apple Online Store to check availability at their local store. If in stock, they will be able to reserve it and pick it up later.
A separate report from China suggests that Apple will announce in-store Apple Watch availability at next week’s WWDC 2015 event. It adds that Apple has not quite solved all of its production issues and that in-store sales will be subject to certain restrictions. Exactly what those might be is not clear though but could do with availability of certain models as well as availability of demo units in stores.