Apple unveils new "mini" retail stores, locations
updated 03:25 pm EDT, Thu October 14, 2004
Apple \"mini\" stores debut
Apple today unveiled its new "mini" retail store, an all-new design featuring stainless steel walls and seamless white floors and ceilings. The mini store is half the size of Apple’s smallest store to date, which Apple says will allow it to be placed in a variety of new locations to "introduce Apple’s innovative products to even more customers." Apple will open its first six mini stores this Saturday at 10 a.m. in Palo Alto, CA; San Jose, CA; Santa Rosa, CA; Tukwila, WA; Bridgewater, NJ; and Rockaway, NJ. Apple's CEO Jobs Thursday to unveil the new stores at a shopping mall near Palo Alto, marking his first public appearance since he underwent a successful operation on his pancreas in late July.
The stores will feature the full line of Apple portables as well as the iMac G5, Apple's iPods, third-party products, a Genius Bar, and on-site repair on all Apple products.
"Our mini store is a big experience that fits in a small space," said Ron Johnson, Apple's senior vice president of Retail. "The mini store's small size will allow us to place stores in a variety of interesting new locations, while retaining innovations like the Genius Bar that have made Apple's retail stores such a hit."
During the first three years of Apple's retail strategy, Apple has successfully located 84 retail stores in the United States and today over half of the US population lives within 15 minutes of an Apple retail store. The mini store is designed to precisely locate additional stores closer to customers to make it even more convenient to purchase products and get help.
Slick lookin
10/14, 04:00pm reply
Looks like a store people will 'pop' into to look around. Less space also means less rent... another smart move. I don't see a check out desk so I wonder if that is a picture from a real store. Doesn't sound like eMacs will be on sale there either.. I think that is a mistake.
All in all I'll give it a thumbs up though!
poulh
Mac Enthusiast
Joined: Jun 2000
smart high-tech
10/14, 04:12pm reply
i think this move is very smart and clever. those terminator-high-tech-class-stores will push the cult of the mac fast forward!
ballmann
Fresh-Faced Recruit
Joined: Jul 2001
Tukwila???
10/14, 04:37pm reply
We already have 2 stores in the greater Seattle area. The only thing Tukwila may have going for it is its close proximity to the airpost and to a large shopping mall. Why not get the mini-store in the mall? Ok, the answer is going to be price of the retail space but Tukwila? Curious.
bigpoppa206
Fresh-Faced Recruit
Joined: Jun 2003
Tukwilla store
10/14, 04:55pm reply
I believe the tukwilla store IS in the mall."Westfield Shoppingtown" which all of us natives still call Southcenter.
endrmtc
Fresh-Faced Recruit
Joined: Aug 2002
Tukwilla Store
10/14, 06:40pm reply
I for one will appreciate a store in Tukwilla. The other 2 stores cater to Seattle (north) and Bellevue (eastside). The Tukwilla store will cater more to the masses in South Puget Sound. Frankly, I'd like to see one at the Tacoma Mall or in that area.
Guido
Fresh-Faced Recruit
Joined: Jul 2001
What happened to Syracuse
10/14, 07:19pm reply
There was supposed to be a Syracuse mini-store, and early rumors had it opening on Sept. 25. There used to be an apple sign painted on the plywood construction screen, but that disappeared and Sept. 25 came and went.
I'm desperate to not have to drive over three hours (ignoring traffic) to get to an Apple Store.
To think that the first rumored store was supposed to be in Pittsburgh, when I lived near there, and that never happened. Now that I'm in BFE NY, I'm having my hopes dashed again.
-- Len
LenE
Fresh-Faced Recruit
Joined: May 2004
Not needed
10/15, 12:00am reply
Great. More stores where they are not needed. Does anyone in California have any trouble finding a Mac or Apple stuff? In the Bay Area you cant throw a rock without hitting a freaking Apple store.
But god forbid they put a store in Albuquerque or Santa Fe, New Mexico - where there are not any Apple stores, and not even any indy Mac stores....
ValkRaider
Fresh-Faced Recruit
Joined: Aug 2001
Does...
10/15, 08:13am reply
..anyone hear the mdeath throes of independent dealers? Pretty soon, the ONLY place to find Mac computers will be in stores. Get used to having to drive hundreds of miles to find aMac store. Besides, they are all about the Pod these days, those can be bought pretty much anywhere.
paulc
Junior Member
Joined: Aug 2000
Re: does
10/15, 09:32am reply
Well, if there's no store within hundreds of miles, what would drive your local dealer out of business?
Oh, and I know that since it was the previous business model of stores and dealers that helped apple reach its incredibly high marketshare of 2% (or whatever), maybe a change is needed if Apple actually expects it to go UP, instead of down.
Poor CompUSA, if they lose their mac sections, where will they store their ladders and spare PC inventory?
All I know was that, when the stores opened, they predicted the stores would all be closing by now, and Apple would be, gee, I don't know, what's the phrase....oh, yeah, "Going out of business". And apple seems to be expanding its presence. I guess this is to make a more spectacular implosion...
testudo
Fresh-Faced Recruit
Joined: Aug 2001