Best Buy will start selling the Apple Watch in its stores and online beginning Aug. 7, becoming the first national retailer where consumers can buy the wearable device.
"The Apple Watch is an important addition to an emerging product category, and we know our customers want it," Jason Bonfig, senior category officer at Best Buy, said in a statement. "We are excited to bring Apple Watch to more consumers, especially with the holidays coming up."
Best Buy did not specify the locations where the Apple Watch will be available but the devices will be initially available in more than 100 Best Buy stores in the country before expanding to 300 stores before the holiday shopping season, according to VentureBeat.
Consumers will find 16 models of the Apple Watch, including the Sport and Watch editions with a wide range of straps and other accessories, on display. However, the $10,000 gold model will not be available.
Despite reports claiming that Apple Watch sales are slow, Apple CEO Tim Cook defended the product saying that the watch is selling more than they expected. The partnership with Best Buy is simply one of the company's strategies to make the product more accessible to buyers.
"We're very bullish on the Watch being one of the key, top holiday gifts and want to have it in more places than we currently have it," Cook said in an interview with the Wall Street Journal.
Apple is positive that Best Buy would draw in additional buyers despite its low-budget image.
"[W]e are thrilled to begin offering it at Best Buy locations across the U.S.," an Apple spokesperson told Mashable.
The partnership is considered a win-win situation for both businesses. Best Buy gets to have more customers coming in as people will surely drop by to try out the smartwatch while Apple can reach out to more potential buyers.
