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Mon, 17 Nov 2008 Apple set for record Mac sales despite MacBook criticisms

Investment bank Piper Jaffray claims Apple is set for another record quarter, Mac sales up despite complaints

Mark Hattersley

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Investment bank Piper Jaffray believes that Apple is on course for a record quarter of MacBook sales.

Piper Jaffray analyst, Gene Munster, believes that Apple will improve upon last quarter's record 2.6 million Mac sales and match the 6 million iPhone sales.

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The report is based upon 25 hours of physically counting sales of iPhones and Macs at Apple's US-based retail stores. The checks showed per store Mac sales to be up 80 per cent year-on-year from a similar survey that took place in 2007, when each store was moving approximately 20 Macs per day. Apple is now said to be averaging 36 units per day.

Munster claims that these observations lead him to believe Apple will beat his 2.7 million Mac unit sales, which would position the company to set a new single quarter Mac sales record of 2,611,000 units.

Apple has come under criticism for its latest refresh to the MacBook line, with many Macworld readers claiming that the laptops are too expensive. Others have been critical of Apple's decision to remove FireWire from the MacBook range, or Apple's decision to only have an option of a glossy screen on the MacBook Pro.

If Piper Jafray's figures hold true, it would appear that none of these criticisms have stood between Apple's customers and a purchasing decision.

The firm's check revealed that Apple is selling an average of 28 iPhones per day per store, down from 95 units per day per store in July. However, the upcoming holiday season and the addition of Best Buy as a reseller will combine to offset slowdown.

"We believe iPhone units will decline 5-15% sequentially, which is above recent reports from Asian suppliers suggesting up to a 40% sequential decline," he told clients in a research report Monday. "We are currently modelling for an 8% decline [to 6.4 million units]."

Piper Jafray maintains a Buy rating and $250 price target on shares of Apple.

Via AppleInsider

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Comments received


Haku said on Tue, 18 Nov 2008

"If Piper Jafray's figures hold true, it would appear that none of these criticisms have stood between Apple's customers and a purchasing decision." is a meaningless sentence. If something stood in the way of customers deciding to make a purchase, they wouldn't be customers. People for whom the criticisms *did* make a difference to purchasing are therefore not customers in the next quarter!

I also think it is wrong to assume that even if Apple do sell a record number of macs in the next quarter it's because no-one cares about a lack of firewire or prices going up etc - I struggle to imagine there would be many, if any, people *not* buying a Macbook because it still had a firewire port or the option for a matte screen...

Rod Allen said on Tue, 18 Nov 2008

Shouldn't that be 28 iPhones per day per store?

Rod

imajes said on Tue, 18 Nov 2008

Was that similar survey done just after new models were introduced or simply a year earlier? You will always get a sales spike after an update, even if the update is flawed as many people will have waited for a long time to change laptops. Plus I gather lots of people have been rushing to buy the older versions before they all go.

Natasha said on Tue, 18 Nov 2008

@Haku
> I struggle to imagine there would be many, if any, people *not* buying a Macbook
> because it still had a firewire port or the option for a matte screen...

I'm a professional photographer. Buying a MacBook Pro with a glossy screen is totally unthinkable. With the screen on full brightness, glossy screens are *almost* fine. With the screen brightness turned down, reflections come alive. They become terrible and tiring on the eyes.

I need as much battery life as I can get and I can't carry any more gear around. I do a lot of writing in out-of-the-way places.

The day the new MacBooks and MacBook Pro's were released, I watched with eager anticipation. I was ready to run out and buy one the same day. I didn't. I still haven't. And I will never buy another Mac while there is no option for a matt screen. Currently looking at a new Sony Viao.

The new MacBook's and MacBook Pro's look like Sony Viao's, so there's no loss for me in that respect either.

imajes said on Tue, 18 Nov 2008

To add to Natasha's comment, I'm also a pro photographer and am considering my next laptop being a PC, due to the glossy screen and lack of pro 13" laptops with a high res screen.

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