04/17/2008, 10:45am, EDT
Thursday, April 17th
Apple looks towards Maine, new NYC stores
Apple is planning to open its first retail store in Maine this year, the Portland Press Herald reports. The newspaper observes that Apple's official job listings mention a location in the Maine Mall, and listings on Monster.com refer to openings for artists, store managers, sales representatives and inventory specialists. An Apple spokeswoman has refused to confirm either half of the equation, but has not denied any claims either.
The opening of a Maine store could potentially disrupt existing Mac resellers such as Best Buy, and more importantly smaller business, who are more economically fragile and for whom Apple-related income can be central.
It is meanwhile rumored that Apple may be interested in yet another New York City location, either at 15 Broad Street, or 23 Wall Street, not far from the New York Stock Exchange. 15 Broad is already known to have been bought by a company for $18.6 million, but the buyer is being kept anonymous, and fashion outlet Barney's is said to be competing for the same storefronts.
Finally, the Third Street Promenade location in southern California is being expanded from its current single-story size, in order to include a basement for inventory and repairs, a second floor for training and the Genius Bar, and a glass staircase similar to that in Apple's flagship stores. Construction should last a year, and it is rumored that the store will close entirely while work is being finished.
Filed under: Apple
Other story tags: retail, New York City, California, Maine
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(yes I'm joking)
Apple's minimalist store design has made for more convenient shopping, if you know what you want. Problem is, the stores are always so crowded here that everyone is helping with sales or offering purchasing advice. The local stores are the counter balance that offset this fast-food service with old school DIThemselves service and support for older systems, which current employees at Apple Stores are clueless about.
Mac average lifespans are over twice as long as a PC, so you'd think that the company would want to offer knowledgable support for these machines. It might be more cost-effective to not deal with them, as much of the user base numbers is new growth, so the small stores take over.
Don't spout that 'evil corporations kill small businesses' BS. These types of stores are better at doing certain things, and adapt when the market changes. It's called competition and selection, aka capitalism. What could be more American?