Two more leading analysts have issued research notes to clients saying that sales of the BlackBerry Z10 is off to a strong start in the UK.
According to AllThingsD, Bernstein analyst Pierre Ferragu and Barclays analyst Jeff Kvaal issued the notes following initial retail checks that showed strong demand for the recently released smartphone, which is the first to be based on the BlackBerry 10 platform.
“We have grown more confident in the likely success of the BlackBerry 10 launch, supported by low channel inventories, strong operator support and material pent-up demand,” Ferragu states.
“Initial feedback we have received from distributors on the first days of sales is particularly positive.”
Kvaal went further, claiming the BlackBerry launch was stronger than Nokia’s Lumia 920 launch late last year.
“Our recent store checks suggest that initial sales of the BlackBerry Z10 are off to a solid, if not healthy start in the UK,” Kvaal says.
“We believe BlackBerry’s Z10 is off to a better start than the Lumia 920. The solid initial demand is a positive step in our view, despite the number of challenges that remain.”
In November, SmartCompany reported Telstra had sold out of its pre-order stock of the Lumia 920, with sell-outs in other countries, including Germany.
The analysts join Jefferies analyst Peter Misek in noting strong sales for the new smartphone, as SmartCompany reported yesterday.
“We believe Carphone Warehouse is seeing widespread sell-outs while O2, Vodafone, Orange and EE are seeing robust demand,” Misek states.
“We estimate sell-in to be at least several hundred thousand units. To put that in perspective, the iPhone had first weekend sales of five million plus in the US. The US is five times larger so continued strong sales could bode very well for BlackBerry.”
BlackBerry, formerly known as Research In Motion, hopes the new handset will help it fight back after competitors including Samsung and Apple grabbed significant marketshare from the smartphone pioneer.
Andrew Sadauskas is a former journalist at SmartCompany and a former editor of TechCompany.
