Best Buy deepens links to Apple, says watch has been a smash hit

Phil Wahba, writing for Fortune:

“Demand for Apple Watch has been so strong in the stores and online,” Best Buy CEO Hubert Joly told Wall Street analysts on a conference call. The retailer expects to be selling the device, which hit the market in June, at all of its 1,050 big-box stores by the end of September, he added. Initially, Best Buy had planned to have watches in 300 stores by the holiday season. (It started selling the watches in early August.) Apple did not provide specific sales numbers for the watch in its second-quarter earnings last month, but Best Buy’s comments provide more evidence of the device’s success.

Joly also announced steps that will deepen Best Buy’s relationship with Apple. It is currently updating its Apple shop-in-shops at 740 stores, including new fixtures and more display tables for phones, computers, and tablets. The work is already complete at 350 stores, and will be finished at another 170 in time for the key holiday season. He also said that Best Buy will begin selling AppleCare product service and support this quarter, and will start testing out being an authorized service provider at 50 stores.

According to this Bloomberg article, Best Buy will roll out Apple Watch to 900 stores on September 4th (a week from Friday).

Was this part of the original Apple Watch marketing plan? Or is this a pivot in approach, a reaction to current sales results (whether positive or negative)? This feels like a recent development, a deal cut between Apple and Best Buy as the Apple Watch sales became known data. This story feels very fluid, facts changing as if the strategy is still forming.