By the end of September, Hewlett-Packard will no longer be selling Apple iPods under its own brand. The two companies seem to be done with each other after only joining forces last year.
This announcement comes at a strange time, when just earlier this month, HP and Apple agreed to expand their relationship and have HP start selling the iPod shuffle.
“The timing of this is a little bizarre,” said American Technology Research analyst Shaw Wu. “HP just weeks ago expanded their relationship with Apple by selling Apple’s iPod shuffle player. Now, all of a sudden, they’re cutting it off.”
Some believe that the move is a result of the leadership of HP’s new CEO Mark Hurd or recently replaced Carly Fiorina. “The Apple deal was a Carly deal,” said Wu. “He’s making his own mark on the company.” Duncan Martell and Eric Auchard or Reuters write:
The January 2004 announcement by former HP chief executive Carly Fiorina to resell Apple iPods under the HP name was treated as a milestone for both companies as Apple made an unusual alliance with a rival and HP reached outside itself for a key consumer technology.
But HP iPod sales accounted for an average of only 5 percent of all iPods sold since the two companies struck their deal, according to Apple. HP sold about 8 percent of all iPods in the June quarter, according to Apple’s quarterly report.
“The long-term impact on Apple is next to nil,” said NPD Group analyst Stephen Baker. “Apple has proven they can get their products out there with no problems.”
Apple shares fell $1.15, or 2.6% closing at $42.65 on Nasdaq yesterday, while shares of Hewlett-Packard went up 13 cents reaching $24.62 on the New York Stock Exchange.
Chris is a staff writer for Murdok. Visit Murdok for the latest ebusiness news.
