L2inc.com video published Nov 15, 2018. Scott Galloway poses the above question.
L2inc analysis:
See also: Amazon strikes deal with Apple to sell new iPhones and iPads | TheVerge.com
Editor's note: Only Apple or Apple-authorized resellers will be allowed to sell Apple and Beats devices through Amazon, and any other companies that are currently selling Apple products on Amazon will see their listings taken down starting on January 4th, 2019, after which they will need to apply to Apple to become official resellers before being allowed to sell them again on Amazon.
Transcript (unedited, auto-generated):
00:01 Clash of the Titans what happens when an
00:05 unstoppable force a mossad up against an
00:08 immovable apple not fire not brimstone
00:11 but a big deal check that a big deal on
00:16 Sunday news broke that Amazon and Apple
00:18 had signed a deal to expand the products
00:20 Apple sells on the e-commerce platform
00:22 Apple has largely been absent from
00:24 Amazon with the exception of Apple TV
00:27 products while Amazon's typical strategy
00:29 is to partner with a brand copy their
00:31 product and sell the brand for a lower
00:33 price and then outsource the part of the
00:36 ecosystem
00:36 Amazon's attempts to enter the
00:38 smartphone arena have failed anyone
00:41 remember the fire what does Amazon's
00:43 master plan with this deal simple
00:45 everyone buys everything on Amazon
00:47 luxury has been a long-term holdout from
00:50 the platform but the ultimate luxury
00:52 brand is now distributing officially on
00:55 Amazon that luxury brand is Apple prior
00:57 to this week's deal searching for Apple
00:59 on Amazon led mostly to refurbish phones
01:02 and accessories from third-party sellers
01:04 that is junk which extended the
01:07 replacement cycle for Apple which they
01:09 do not like the leap from selling $10
01:11 cases $2,000 smart phones means big
01:14 bucks and margin for Amazon and Apple
01:18 what does Apple get here one control
01:20 this gives Apple a means to control
01:21 content and pricing on its secondary
01:23 market a strategy Nike tried to
01:26 implement but was largely unsuccessful
01:28 we'll see if Apple has the power that
01:30 Nike didn't in addition Santa is coming
01:33 the timing of this deal sets Apple up
01:35 well for the 2018 holiday season and
01:38 Apple can now be included in Amazon's
01:40 massive global holiday marketing efforts
01:43 Apple also has to feed the beast of
01:45 growth iPhone sales have been slowing
01:47 over the years everyone who's going to
01:48 buy the thousand dollar iPhone X most
01:51 likely already did they have bought into
01:53 the religion and camped out at Apple
01:55 stores or pre-ordered them online the
01:57 strategy here is a simple one maintain
01:59 the temples to the brand the Apple
02:00 stores for the fresh off the runway
02:02 looks
02:02 for example the iPhone X align and also
02:05 open an outlet store for the less
02:08 aspirational products going into less
02:10 aspirational distribution is a bad eye
02:13 this is a company [Apple] that's so hungry for
02:15 growth to keep feeding the beast they
02:17 have decided to make a brand denigrating
02:20 move and are going into less
02:21 aspirational distribution which will
02:23 come back to haunt them
02:25 this is another symbol that Apple has
02:27 jumped the shark ....
[Music] "Whip It" by Devo