Apple’s iPod has confirmed its mass market appeal with the news that Myer, Megamart, Target and Domayne stores are to stock the top performing music player.
Apple Australia confirmed the deals yesterday, and indicated more mass merchants would soon have iPod on their shelves.
“From April 1, Australian customers will be able to buy iPod from more places than ever before,” an Apple spokesperson said. “More retail outlets will be coming on board very soon so consumers will have even more choice of where to buy.”
Coles Myer stores, Megamart and Myer, will sell the iPod nationwide, along with Target. The Harvey Norman company, Domayne, will also sell the music player.
iPods are already available through David Jones, Apple Centres and resellers, and Apple’s online store.
In an email to channel partners signed by Apple channel manager, Kevin McElduff, Apple told channel partners the success it had seen through the David Jones stores had accelerated its plans to tackle the mass merchant space. McElduff told resellers in the letter that Apple expected the new retailers would follow the pattern set by David Jones of selling predominantly to PC users.
“This will serve the Apple community well in years to come as we market the entire range of products to these new customers,” he said.
But while the addition of several mass merchants would help raise the profile of Apple and the iPod, several resellers said that supply of the iPod was already constrained.
One reseller said that despite ordering several hundred iPods at a time, he always had to wait for stock.
“They’ve just given the iPod to Myer and Target, but they can’t even supply their own channel,” the reseller said.
Last week Apple announced that demand for the new iPod mini in the US had pushed back its overseas release date to July.
