BlackBerry has asked securities regulators in the US and Canada to investigate claims by investment firm Detwiler Fenton it describes as “false and misleading”.
Reuters reports the investment firm issued a note to investors late last week claiming an unusually large number of returns of BlackBerry Z10 smartphones in the US, a claim disputed by the Canadian smartphone giant.
“We believe key retail partners have seen a significant increase in [BlackBerry] Z10 returns to the point where, in several cases, returns are now exceeding sales, a phenomenon we have never seen before,” the note stated.
BlackBerry strongly disputes the claim, which saw the company’s share price nose-dive, pointing out that returns were in line with industry averages.
“To suggest otherwise is either a gross misreading of the data or a wilful manipulation,” BlackBerry chief executive Thorsten Heins said in a statement.
“Such a conclusion is absolutely without basis and BlackBerry will not leave it unchallenged.”
Andrew Sadauskas is a former journalist at SmartCompany and a former editor of TechCompany.
