MacBook Price Cut: Price Cuts from Apple Resellers – What does this Mean?

MacBook Price Cut: This week, several of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL)’s largest resellers slashed prices on MacBook Pro and MacBook Air models. While price cuts are not the end of the world, it does raise a question: why are resellers deciding to lower prices at this time?

AppleInsider does a good job of breaking down this story, explaining what resellers may be facing at the present time:

“In addition to widespread concerns over Apple’s capacity to maintain growth and premium profit margins in its bread-and-butter iPhone business in the face of stiff competition from the likes of Samsung, recent data from U.S.-based market research firms have also done their part to depress sentiment surrounding the company’s computer business.”

What the near future holds for the Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) computer business is anyone’s guess, however, the same article goes on to explain that sales numbers may not be up to par.

“One average, analysts have extrapolated those data releases to predict that Mac sales for the three-month period ending December will fall 4 percent year over year to 5 million units — figures that are unquestionably hampered by a roughly estimated 500,000 new iMac units that Apple was unable to push into the channel during the quarter due to well-documented production problems.”

At this time, there is no way of knowing for sure if Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) made suggestions to resellers in terms of price cuts. There is a chance that the company’s preferred partners first consulted with Apple before making any decision. Of course, there is a chance this did not happen as well.

Here is more from the same AppleInsider piece:

“And while there is no hard evidence to suggest that Apple may have played a role in the reductions, Best Buy is known to be a preferred partner with which Apple often consults prior to material price drops on its products that present potential to dilute the company’s premium brand in the face of consumers.”

It is hard to argue against the fact that the Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) computer lineup is viewed as overpriced by many. Could this have something to do with the price cuts?

“There’s also been rumblings amongst insiders that the company’s MacBook Pro Retina pricing is proving a bit too rich for average consumers in the face of today’s global economy, and customers are therefore buying down the chain towards lower ASP (average selling price) models in a play to remain loyal to Apple’s ecosystem. As such, Best Buy could be simply looking to capitalize on the trend in a bid for attach-rates and customer retention.”

What are your thoughts on the recent price cuts by Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) resellers?

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DISCLOSURE: I have no positions in any stock mentioned.

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