$99 iPhone and Walmart

So I decided to go to Walmart this weekend to do some investigation on my own.  While walking around, I have to say that the employees at Walmart are very different from those at the Apple store.  Both are friendly, yes but the Apple employees seem to be from a different crowd.  Walmart and Apple stores are like from different planets.

So onto my mission.  I walked into the electronic department and went straight up to a sales guy.  Asked him when could I buy my $99 iPhone.  He smiled and said that he has been asked that question all day.  He hinted to me that there will be an iPhone but it will not be $99.

My next stop was to check with my Apple buddy to see if he has seen  a $99 iPhone in their store system.  He said "No"

So okay.  No 99 dollar iPhone at Walmart and no 99 dollar iPhone at Apple stores.... So what am I rambling on about today?

Basically, there is no way in the world that Apple will let Walmart sell a $99 dollar iPhone if they do not plan on selling a $99 iPhone themselves.  It would be counterproductive.  All those people that would normally go to an Apple store to buy an iPhone would end up at Walmart.  They would be there buying not just the $99 iPhone, but also buying the cheaper iPhone case and accessories.  That would hurt Apple's store business and add more profit to Walmart. My take is that Apple stores have been successful not just because Apple is successful, but also because they are profitable. What else would explain the sustained growth and number of stores they have opened to date? I doubt that Apple wants their stores to end up being like Gateway where the failure of the stores dragged the overall business down even further.