Backlogged orders as shoppers get close-up look at Apple Watch

Customers preordering Apple Inc’s smartwatch on Friday will have to wait at least a month for delivery, a sign of strong early demand for company chief Tim Cook’s first new major product. People flocked to Apple’s stores around the world to get a close-up look at the Apple Watch, the tech company’s foray into the personal luxury goods market, with Apple predicting demand would exceed supply at product launch.

We view this as an indication of solid demand paired with very limited supply. We continue to expect modest sales in the June quarter as demand ramps over time.

Piper Jaffray analyst Gene Munster

A key factor in the watch’s success will be demand once an initial wave of interest from Apple enthusiasts subsides. The watch goes on sale officially on April 24, online and through appointments in shops, including trendy fashion boutiques in Paris, London and Tokyo, part of Apple’s strategy of positioning the wearable computer as a must-have accessory. But soon after online preorders opened on Friday, Apple’s website listed shipping times in June for some models of the watch and four to six weeks for others. There was immediately brisk bidding on eBay for confirmed orders for watches, with hundreds of sellers looking to make a few hundred or even thousand dollars by passing on their watches, once received.

You would want to catch up by the holiday season. But based on what’s out there in Android land, I don’t think there’s an extreme risk in near term of losing customers who must have a smartwatch and will go to some alternative.

JMP analyst Alex Gauna

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