The BlackBerry Z10 has been outselling Apple’s iPhone and Samsung’s Galaxy phones in Canada since it went on sale earlier this month, a major wireless retailer says.
Glentel Inc., owner of the WirelessWave chain of cellphone retailers, said in a note sent to BlackBerry (formerly known as Research In Motion) that the Z10 was the “leading smartphone” sold in its stores since it went on sale on Feb. 5.
The company said it would not provide a specific breakdown of sales numbers.
Glentel has more than 330 WirelessWave stores across Canada, and will be launching kiosks inside Target locations as part of that retailer’s expansion into Canada later this spring.
Sales of the BlackBerry Z10 may be experiencing an initial bump, as BlackBerry enthusiasts rush out to buy the brand new device. There was no indication from Glentel whether the retailer expected the Z10 to outsell brands like Apple and Samsung in the coming months.
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BlackBerry 10 Launch - Jan. 30, 2013
Andrew MacLeod, managing director for Canada at BlackBerry, said in a statement that the Z10’s launch day was “50 per cent better than any other launch day in our history in Canada.”
Specific sales numbers won’t be known until BlackBerry releases its next quarterly results at the end of March.
In the meantime, observers and analysts have been playing a guessing game, trying to suss out how the Z10 has been doing since its launch in Canada and the U.K.
A survey from Ipsos-Reid last week suggested BlackBerry still has a way to go to rehabilitate its position in Canada.
BlackBerry’s market share continued to decline in January of this year, tying with Samsung for second place, at 23 per cent of the market.
Apple had a lock on first place, with 32 per cent of all the smartphones owned in Canada.