PCR Tech and IT retail, distribution and vendor news
HP’s ‘fire sale’ of TouchPad tablets resulted in brisk sales and rapid selling out of stock over the weekend in the United States.
Following the announcement of a withdrawal from WebOS powered hardware, HP again cut the price of the TouchPad to an astonishing $100. The New York Times reported on a degree of retailer confusion and inconsistency with Best Buy only applying the cut on Sunday.
HP’s desperation to dump tens of thousands of TouchPad tablets saw the device cut to $100 from the original $500 launch price.
Australian retail giant Harvey Norman took the TouchPad off sale and offered refunds to customers. Harvey Norman electronics division boss said the WebOS move caught HP Australia by surprise: "They knew even less than we do," he said.
"HP hasn’t confirmed whether it will support WebOS in the near future and I’m not going to sell the tablet to customers unless I’m absolutely, categorically sure the vendor will be there to support the platform in the future," McIntosh said.
The Australian reported that Harvey Norman had entered into ‘crisis talks’ with HP following the announcement. In addition to the removal of the TouchPad, which was said to have sold 1,200 units in the five days since launch, the retailer embarked on a weekend-only hefty 40%-off sale on all HP goods.
