IPhone Pro models scarce in stores this holiday - Best Buy - Marketscreener.com

Nov 22 (Reuters) - High-end iPhones volition beryllium successful short supply astatine stores this vacation season, Best Buy Co Inc said connected Tuesday, pursuing a informing from Apple Inc this period that China's zero-COVID argumentation was squeezing production astatine a cardinal factory.

The proviso issues are expected to importantly wounded the premium iPhone 14 Pro and iPhone 14 Pro Max models, which start at astir $1,000.

"One of the places wherever we're seeing a spot of (inventory) pressure is successful those higher-end iconic iPhone devices," Best Buy boss Corie Barry said connected a media call.

Analysts person flagged that inventory of iPhones astatine Apple stores astir the Black Friday buying play were down from a year earlier, and it was taking longer to replenish stocks.

IPhones gully customers to Best Buy stores, particularly during the vacation season, and often trigger impulse buying, and Apple fans waiting for the latest devices could propulsion retired income into the adjacent quarter.

A Best Buy store successful Bronx, New York, that Reuters visited did not person immoderate iPhone Pro models available. A store supervisor, Michael Phillips, said it takes astatine slightest 2 weeks for models to scope aft orders are placed.

"We suffer a batch of customers due to the fact that of that," Phillips said. For radical who privation the Pro Max, "you're not going to settee for something that doesn't person the specs you want."

Best Buy did not respond to a petition for remark connected this.

Demand for high-end smartphones has helped Apple emerge relatively unscathed adjacent arsenic consumers chopped spending amid surging inflation and involvement rates.

"Across consumers, we tin besides spot that savings are being drawn down and recognition usage is going up," Barry said. "Value clearly matters to everyone."

Wedbush expert Dan Ives estimates 8 cardinal iPhone 14 units will beryllium sold implicit the Black Friday weekend, astir 2 million fewer than iPhone 13s a twelvemonth ago, arsenic galore Apple stores person 25% fewer iPhones successful their inventories than a twelvemonth earlier.

"IPhone income whitethorn get pushed to the March 4th and retired of the December period," Thomas Forte, expert astatine D.A. Davidson said.

Earlier this month, Apple warned of delays successful shipments of its flagship merchandise pursuing a important accumulation chopped at Foxconn's Zhengzhou works owed to China's strict COVID-19 policy.

Apple did not respond to a petition for remark connected this story.

Best Buy's Barry said the institution had factored the expected loss successful income owed to the shortage of the premium iPhones into its vacation 4th forecast.

Still, Best Buy connected Tuesday forecast a smaller driblet successful annual sales than it had antecedently estimated. (Reporting by Uday Sampath successful Bengaluru and Hilary Russ successful New York; further reporting by Supantha Mukherjee successful Stockholm, and Siddharth Cavale and Doyinsola Oladipo successful New York; Editing by Anil D'Silva and Sayantani Ghosh)