RIM’s BlackBerrys Losing Shelf Space, Mindshare Among Carriers

All Things D: Pacific Crest analyst James Faucette has more bad news for RIM. “Our sell-through checks in the United States indicate that BlackBerry sales were largely unchanged in August versus July; however, we detected meaningfully lower inventory levels versus a month ago,” Faucette said. “In terms of sell-through, we believe that current run rates are roughly one-fifth of those we saw in the United States just eight months ago. Further, we found a meaningful number of carrier retail locations which had not sold a single BlackBerry in over a month.”

If those numbers are correct, RIM could have a tough time catching up with its competitors even if it enjoys a successful launch of BlackBerry 10, which is due for release in the first quarter of next year. “Even assuming that BlackBerry 10 devices roll out on time starting in 2013, we believe the clear evidence of shelf-space pressure our checks have detected does not bode well for the company in the longer term,” Faucette added.