Nothing Nothing Did Prepared Me For Their Sales Figures

Nothing spent most of the last year teasing its Ear (1) earbuds, and it's a strategy that seems to have worked. Today, on the first anniversary of Nothing's creation, founder Carl Pei published a thank you letter to the community that has sprouted up around the company. In that letter, Pei shares some sales statistics for the Ear (1), and they're pretty impressive, to say the least.

Pei opened his letter by saying it has "been a long and memorable year" for the company. Pei says that the goal for the first year was to build brand recognition for Nothing, but it seems the company has achieved that and more. According to Pei, Nothing has already secured 320,000 orders for the Ear (1) earbuds and has fulfilled a little over half of them.

"Our first product, the ear (1), cut through the clutter to become one of the most anticipated product launches of the year," Pei wrote. "It has received great reviews from consumers and media alike, and coupled with a launch video with more than 1 million views, it's selling like hotcakes. We have 320k orders, shipped 180k, while supply is still catching up with demand. Our total forecast is 600k. For context, the first iPod did around 400k."

The difference, of course, was that Apple was already a well-established company when it introduced the iPod. Nothing, on the other hand, has managed to net some impressive sales when you consider that at this point last year, it was just a company with a rather odd name that makes talking about it surprisingly difficult.

While most of Pei's letter is spent thanking employees and customers, there is another interesting tidbit. In recounting how Nothing came to the point of actually launching the Ear (1) earbuds, Pei notes, "To add to the fun, we've also had a major incumbent attacking us in the supply chain trying to block our access to key components. We should take that as a sign of respect."

Pei didn't reveal which company that is, and to our knowledge, there's been no public declaration of supply chain foul play before today. Still, the claim that an established company in the space viewed Nothing as a threat so early on in its lifespan is an intriguing one, even if this is the only thing Pei winds up saying about it in the end.

While we don't know everything that year two will hold for Nothing, there has been the suggestion that the company will enter the smartphone game with a device of its own. We'll see if those rumors pan out next year, so stay tuned for more.