Research In Motion Ltd (NASDAQ:BBRY) (TSE:BB) has had a rough time recently, despite the release of its new line of smart phones. Now analysts have begun cutting their estimates on the number of Blackberry Z10 models the firm may ship before the end of its fiscal year on March 2.
Pacific Crest originally estimated that Research In Motion Ltd (NASDAQ:BBRY) (TSE:BB) would ship between 3 and 4 million models to retailers before the end of the fiscal year. They have now cut that number to between 1 and 1.5 million shipments. The Z10 is the firm’s full screen touch smart phone. The estimates are enumerated through supply channel checks and retailer checks.
The major problem with consigning Research In Motion Ltd (NASDAQ:BBRY) (TSE:BB) to the graveyard now is that it’s still far too early in the game. The company has not even fully launched its smart phones. The z10 won’t be available in the United States until mid-March. A second problem is clearly the firm’s business model.
Research In Motion Ltd (NASDAQ:BBRY) (TSE:BB) concentrates its effort on the enterprise sector. That’s what it’s good at, and that’s where it’s always had its greatest successes. Business orders come in bulk, and they don’t come on the day or the week after the launch of a new model. They come whenever the IT department feels like it.
Enterprise adoption is the real target for the new Research In Motion Ltd (NASDAQ:BBRY) (TSE:BB) Blackberry sales model. Supply channel checks just a few weeks after the launch provide little indication of how they might do. Businesses are generally quite conservative about adopting new technologies. Blackberry may have to wait a while for that demand to kick in, but when it does it will pay dividends.
The company has few options in any other direction. It is unlikely to be able to sell itself, and it doesn’t seem to want to anyway. The company just needs to hold on and do what it does best, provide a great service that business clients will be interested in. That’s the way forward, but it means weathering a storm first.
Research In Motion Ltd (NASDAQ:BBRY) (TSE:BB) shares are up more than 11% since the start of the year on optimism about the company’s new operating system launch, but they’re actually down since the company launched its devices. Research In Motion Ltd is not going to give up now, nor should it. There’s still plenty of time on the clock, and with a great product like the Z10, they’ve got an asset in a difficult situation
