Apple's online store is running a rare sale on Beats headphones (AAPL)

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April 3, 2017 7:22 PM

Is this a big change in Apple's retail strategy?

Angela Ahrendts, Apple’s senior vice president of Retail and Online Stores.

Apple stuff doesn't go on sale often, and it almost never goes on sale at Apple's stores.

As a luxury brand of sorts, Apple usually sells its products for exactly its manufacturer's suggested retail price, especially in its retail stores.

But Apple is breaking that tradition with a sale on Beats, Apple's audio-focused brand. MacRumors reports that three Apple products are on sale online and at stores, with some discounts as high as 25%.

Apple's site lists the prices as "special."

Here are the discounted products:

Beats Pill+ Portable Speaker
Beats EP On-Ear Headphones
Beats Solo2 On-Ear Headphones

Note that the three Beats products on sale are not the latest or most high-tech. Apple last fall launched a new Pill and Solo headphones that pair more easily with Apple products, so these products have been largely replaced in the Beats lineup. The EP headphones are the entry-level pair that was introduced in September.

While the online Apple store has a section called Refurbished and Clearance, or Special Deals, it's focused on refurbished products that are about 10% off.

Apple's head of retail, Angela Ahrendts, comes from a background in luxury retailers and likely isn't pushing a strategy of heavy discounting. In its last sale, Apple offered discounts on its dongles and computer monitors — a reaction to consumers who were upset about the lack of port options on the new MacBook.

Regular discounts have become a staple of other retailers like department stores whose customers have shown they won't buy unless something is marked down. This Apple sale could be the start of a new retail strategy — or Apple could just have some older Beats it needs to get rid of.

Know anything about the Apple retail shakeup? Email the author at kleswing@businessinsider.com.

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