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Australians row over iPod glitch
iPod blamed for lackluster sales
Two of Australia's biggest electronics retailers have slammed a claim by Woolworth's boss, Michael Luscombe, that a glitch in the release of Apple's newest iPod was to blame for Woolworth's lower-than-expected sales performance.
Luscombe said a three-week delay in stores receiving the new iPod had meant sales were not as high as they should have been. He claims that for three weeks customers could not purchase the new iPod, and for a period before then even the older iPod models were scarce.
However, according to the Sydney Morning Herald JB HiFi Chief Executive, Richard Uechtritz, Harvey Norman, General Manager for Computers and Entertainment and Rutland Smith, one product could not have that dynamic an effect on sales.
Richard Uechtritz, who sells more iPods than any other Australian retailer, indicated that a freeze on sales of iPods would have caused a drop of less than 0.5 per cent.
The Dick Smith Electronics, Tandy and Powerhouse stores increased sales by a credible 10.5 per cent, but this was below internal forecasts and well below analysts' predictions of as much as 14 per cent.
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