According to the Globe and Mail, Canadian Best Buys are holding back part of their shipment of Nintendo Wiis. Why are they doing this?

“Shipments for product advertised in our flyers are received by stores at different times throughout the week. Some stores MAY have already received shipments to fulfill this week’s advertisement[s],” wrote Best Buy spokeswoman Heather Buksh. “With a commitment to our customers, stores that may have already received shipment of Wii have been instructed to retain this product until Friday to fulfill the advertisement in our flyer.”

Conspiracy theorists have suggested that Nintendo and retailers are creating an artificial shortage.

“I wasn’t aware that there were any stocks being held back in retail,” says Nintendo Canada marketing director Pierre-Paul Trepanier. “It’s surprising though, I would expect them to want them to make sure all their consumers are happy … I can assure you that at our warehouse in Vancouver, we have zero units.”

We’re not buying the whole artificial shortage thing, but it does seem like a strange idea, and since Best Buy is a U.S. company, we’re assuming the policy is company-wide and applies to the U.S.. Is Best Buy pissing off Peter to please Paul? Or is this the best strategy? We know we like it when things that are advertised in a flyer are in the stores. This may mean that Fridays are your best bet for a Wii. —MEGHANN MARCO (Thanks, Mike!) (Photo courtesy of Adam Melancon)

Best Buy stores told to ‘retain’ Nintendo game consoles [Globe and Mail]

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