Tag Archives: sales figures

Tag Heuer cannot keep up with demand for its new Android Wear smartwatch! – details

Android, Tech News, Wearables,

“Swiss watchmaker TAG Heuer will increase production of its smartwatch in coming months after receiving requests from retailers, agents and subsidiaries for some 100,000 timepieces, according to LVMH Moet Hennessy Louis Vuitton SE’s watch chief.

TAG Heuer aims to make 2,000 pieces per week, up from a current 1,200, Jean-Claude Biver said in an e-mailed response to questions. Online sales of the Connected Watch will be suspended probably until May or June to give priority to physical stores, he said.

The LVMH watch brand is one of the few high-end luxury competitors that has sprung up in response to the Apple Watch. The watchmaker unveiled the $1,500 smartwatch, modeled after the classic Carrera model, last month, in a partnership with Google Inc. and Intel Corp.”

At $1,5000 the demand of this watch is surprising, but it does go to show just how popular Tag Heuer is and maybe $1,500 is a bargain!

Source Bloomberg

Samsung Galaxy Gear – just what are the true sale figures?

Android, Tech News,

Yesterday I reported that the Samsung Galaxy Gear had only sold 50,000 units. However, Gavin’s Gadgets reader Lee Jones added a comment that Yahoo were reporting sales were actually 800,000. That is a vast difference. And then reader Jah added additional commentary that 50,000 in itself is still a remarkable number considering it has only been on sale for a limited amount of time and has been compatible with only one phone.

So what are the true figures and where did the initial sales estimate come from.

Firstly, BusinessKorea reported that Samsung had sold less than 50,000 units to date. This seemed a fairly reliable source and based in Samsung’s home territory. Then the story developed further.

Samsung quickly tried to spin the bad news by saying that it had in fact sold 800,000 units, making it the “most sold wearable watch available in the market place.” And if you are being honest, any company would want a more positive news story than the first version.

However, let’s pause for a moment. The only problem is that Samsung later confirmed that the 800,000 number was actually for units shipped, not sold, which is a big difference, and being unbiased in the only figure Samsung can report as it doesn’t sell the watch direct to the public.

So exploring the numbers further, BusinessKorea’s sources said that the Galaxy Gear’s daily sales are under 800-900 units. On top of that, a leaked internal memo from Best Buy revealed that around a third of buyers are actually returning the Gear which means a lot of unopened Gears sitting on store shelves.

The £299 smartwatch received overwhelming negative reviews when it launched last month from many top news sites including Engadget and New York Times. One has to realise this was the first generation watch from Samsung and it did try and offer an awful lot on a wrist.

So what are the actual sales figures. I would estimate that if 800,000 got shipped and there is a 30% approximate return rate! that leave just over 500,000 actually sold. That is very impressive. But what if the returns are higher and 50,000 is the correct figure. Well, let’s put 50,000 in perspective. That’s 50,000 watches for just one Samsung phone the Note 3. Samsung will be making the device compatible with more of its phones so expect to see sales increasing. And 50,000 has been achieved in just over a month. As a comparison, Pebble Smart Watch which sold 250,000 units in a year, but is compatible with iPhones and multiple android smartphones.

So you decide. Is the Samsung Galaxy Gear a success or the start of the new era of tech wearables?