Apple reportedly removing Bose products from its retail stores

Apple is planning to remove Bose’s products from its retail stores next week, according to a report from MacRumors. The move would give the company more space to show off luxury audio products made by Beats Electronics, which Apple purchased earlier this year. The rumor popped up after Bose became the headphone sponsor of the NFL, and set up an exclusivity agreement banning players from wearing Beats at game time. 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick, who appears in an advertisement for the Beats Studio headphones, was recently fined $10,000 for wearing a pair of the headphones during a post-game press conference.

Apple is preparing to remove all Bose audio products, both demo and sellable, from its retail environment, according to a reliable source who spoke to MacRumors. The inventory change will begin early next week, with instructions for removal being sent to employees in the coming days. The reasons behind this removal were not disclosed, but it is very likely tied to to Apple’s recent acquisition of Beats Electronics. As part of this deal, Apple obtained the popular Beats headphone division as well as the company’s subscription music streaming service. With Beats now featured prominently by Apple, either Bose or Apple may have decided to end their retail relationship. Bose also has a new sponsorship deal with the National Football League that has seen the league prohibit players from wearing Beats headphones while in the presence of television cameras at practice and on game days. San Francisco 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick defied the ban by wearing bright pink Beats headphones at a postgame press conference last Sunday, a move that saw the league hit Kaepernick with a $10,000 fine.