By Claire Reilly
The Canadian manufacturer of the BlackBerry smartphone, Research in Motion (RIM), has had difficulty shifting inventory of its PlayBook tablet and has been forced to reissue its fiscal guidance for the financial year due to poor sales. Sales of the device fell from 500,000 in the first quarter of the fiscal year to just 150,000 in Q3.
According to a statement issued by the company, RIM announced that it would “record a pre-tax provision in the third quarter of fiscal 2012 of approximately $485 million…related to its inventory valuation of BlackBerry PlayBook tablets”.
The news has led the company to reaffirm its commitment to the tablet market according to the Co-CEO of RIM, Mike Lazaridis. “RIM is committed to the BlackBerry PlayBook and believes the tablet market is still in its infancy,” he said.
“As previously disclosed, RIM has a high level of BlackBerry PlayBook inventory. The Company now believes that an increase in promotional activity is required to drive sell-through to end customers.”
The company blamed a number of factors for the poor results, including a delay in the release of the new PlayBook software OS 2.0, as well as “recent shifts in the competitive dynamics of the tablet market”.
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“Although a number of factors have led to the need for an inventory provision in the third quarter, we believe the PlayBook… is a compelling tablet for consumers that also offers unique security and manageability features for the enterprise,” added Lazaridis.
“Early results from recent PlayBook promotions indicate a significant increase in demand across most channels. We look forward to continuing to grow the installed base of PlayBook users and to attracting more and more developers to expand the volume of applications, content and services that leverage the power of the industry leading QNX-based platform.”
In what could be read as a sign that the tablet is struggling in the sales department, Optus has announced that customers will receive a free BlackBerry PlayBook when they purchase a “BlackBerry Torch 9860 smartphone on the $49 Optus Cap or above for 24 months”.
This bonus product amounts to more than half the cost of the smartphone itself, with Optus listing the minimum total plan cost for the Torch as $1,078, whilst the PlayBook has an RRP of $579.
The bundling may in the end prove beneficial for customers – unlike other tablets, the PlayBook is not 3G-capable, and must be “bridged” with a BlackBerry smartphone in order to access the internet outside of Wi-Fi areas.