Distribution channels matter a lot in selling most kind of products.
This is why Google Nexus products fail to sell well, Samsung is so strong in Android smartphones, and why the Moto G is doomed to failure.
Micheal Fisher wrote a great article a while ago about this.
“Should I Trust My Phone Salesman?”
in the United States, manufacturer brands succeed or fail on the backs of the salespeople. And a salesperson who knows nothing about a platform isn’t going to recommend it.
In the US, at least, a phone lives or dies by the retail staff in the carrier stores. Nothing else matters. Not price. Not features. Not apps. If the retail staff doesn’t like you… you die.
I think people are worried that the iPhone is getting ‘sold against’ in stores – that we’re talking people out of the iPhone. And that is true.
Naofumi Kagami 