Carphone Warehouse will not carry the Apple Watch at launch

In another episode of Apple's marketing strategy for its Watch, we've now learned that Carphone Warehouse will be left out of the initial launch and won't be offering the wearable on April 24. The info has been revealed by no other than Graham Stapleton, CEO of UK's biggest cellphone retailer. Or as he cautiously put it:

"We would love to be able to stock the Apple Watch. I've got to be careful what I say but I think they are just going another way with it. We have not been given the opportunity."

Apple was previously negotiating with fashion retailer Nordstrom to carry the Watch and rumor has it that in the US Best Buy was denied the wearable as well. Apparently, Apple wants the Watch to be perceived more as a fashion statement, than a piece of tech and is marketing it accordingly.

Aiming to create a more upmarket image for the Watch, Apple is reportedly planning to build dedicated Watch shops at high-end department stores in London, Paris and Japan. The company is also managing the stores directly, presumably to keep markups within the company.

So far we've also learned that Apple has been clearing its own stores from any products remotely competitive to the Watch, namely various smartbands. Rumor also has it that you won't be able to just drop by a store and pick up an Apple Watch, instead you can just try it on and then order it online.

Via