Why The $10,000 Apple Watch Might Be The Most Important One
It’s obvious Apple is unconcerned about the number of gold watches it sells. It’s exclusive. It’s not about volume. Even if Apple sells tens or hundreds of thousands, the amount of revenue will be peanuts compared to Cupertino’s established businesses. What matters is who buys these high-end wearables. Or more likely, who Apple gives them to in Oscar night goodie bags and as product placements.
It’s not about selling $10,000 watches. It’s about selling millions and millions of $350 ones.
This is how the luxury market works. Companies like Louis Vuitton and Chanel are known for jet-set couture and spendy bags, but the bulk of their revenue comes from selling less-expensive items.
The more I think about it, the more I believe that Apple Watch Edition is going to be huge in helping market Apple Watch as a whole, and it will probably even push more consumers to the “regular” steel version (which likely commands a higher profit margin for Apple than does its aluminum Sport counterpart). The high end makes the midrange more aspirational for base-model customers. Think about musicians, actors, athletes, or anyone else who the world might consider to be a celebrity. Which Apple Watch are they going to want? They’re going to want gold, and that’s going to play a huge role in simply letting people know that owning an Apple Watch — any Apple Watch — is cool.
And cool is the name of the game.