T-Mobile US confirmed that it will no longer stock
BlackBerry smartphones in its retail stores. Going forward, customers who wish
to purchase a handset from the Canadian company will have it shipped to them
instead.
T-Mobile has taken the measure because of drastically
slowing BlackBerry sales. According to David Carrey, T-Mobile’s executive vice
president for corporate sales, “keeping stock in the retail distribution system
was inefficient.”
BlackBerry smartphones
will still be on display in T-Mobile stores. Customers who want one will simply
have to be a bit patient.
T-Mobile’s change of retail strategy adds further to
BlackBerry’s woes. Last week, the company announced that it will lay off 4,500
people and lose almost a billion dollars due to a massive stock of unsold
devices.