It certainly wouldn't harm sales of new items if this was implemented.
It really is bizarre. The available sorting options are name and price (both self explanatory), and "position"! I have no clue what that is. Popularity by clicks or sales maybe. But there is no way to sort the items by release date. It's one of the most basic sorting options on any online store.
I've always thought that Position was sort by newest, though as you say it's anyone's guess what that means.