Will the iPhone's status as the must have gadget for the holiday season hit Best Buy and
Circuit City hard?
That's the opinion of Stifel Nicolaus & Co. Analyst David Schick, who has informed investors that because the iPhone is available at only Apple and AT&T
Wireless stores it could "hurt demand or at least foot traffic to Best Buy and Circuit City."
Trumpeting the iPhone as the "must have electronics item du jour," Schick said that iPhone could even "represent another chapter of pain for the traditional book business" because of the device's ability to download books and read them on screen.
For my money Schick is missing the mark on the iPhone phenomenon. Retail is always an easy target when they don't have a hot product that is available somewhere else. iPhone mania, however, is another matter entirely. The fact is iPhone sales will only increase traffic at Best Buy and Circuit City and other retailers who have all the iPhone accessories you could imagine and then some. Not only that, iPhone is also likely to increase sales of other phones like the red hot Samsung Instinct from Sprint which is selling like hot cakes at Best Buy.
As for hurting sales of traditional books, ask yourself this question: would you really want to read War and Peace on an iPhone? Not unless you want to go blind.
