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24601

macrumors member
Jul 15, 2011
31
24
I bet these will be strategically placed in larger markets that still lack an apple store. I think Apple realized they need a little more hands on reassurance to switchers and I don't think best buy is providing that.

I think this is the purpose of the program. Places like St. George, Utah is a good market to be in but a drive to Las Vegas or Salt Lake City to visit an Apple Store isn't always easy. That is the perfect market for this Target/Apple program. There are plenty of markets just like it across the United States and a good way to get more channels available to would be customers.

I doubt I'll see the Apple/Target experiment in the Chicago market though. We have several Apple Stores within a short drive and plenty of options for getting our Apple gear.
 

mex4eric

macrumors 6502
Jun 23, 2009
263
0
Ottawa, Canada
Canada too?

Target is opening some stores in Canada next year. Maybe a few of them will have Apple stores inside? They might have figured out the formula by then.
 

voonyx

macrumors 6502a
Jul 19, 2011
842
0
Horrible idea from Target, what with Apple dropping the ball recently, and their end being near and all...:rolleyes:
 

designstemplate

macrumors newbie
Dec 30, 2011
7
0
I bet most of the the apple will open shop in target stores that are in major cities that already have an apple store. I personally think they need to target smaller cities.
 

doctor-don

macrumors 68000
Dec 26, 2008
1,604
336
Georgia USA
Hopefully they will have authentic Apple employees and not Target employees running the place. You'll remember what ChumpUSA did to the Apple stuff there...

Do you still get spam from CompUSA - practically the twin of Tiger?

----------

Buying doggy treats and an iPad under the same roof sounds great!

... unless it is like every time I thought about buying an iPad but Target never had any decent / large capacity models.
 

doctor-don

macrumors 68000
Dec 26, 2008
1,604
336
Georgia USA
Well Target currently does sell Apple products, as well as they do other consumer electronics. Among those brands are Canon and Nikon, which both sell incredibly high end professional equipment, but, not at Target (or Best Buy for that matter). I doubt these Target stores will be selling Mac Pro desktops, or what's left of their other professional level equipment / software.

The more popular Apple merch will be sold at Target stores - just as in MicroCenter and Best Buy. Mac Pro - no. iMac - yes. They already sell iPads at Target, but their stock is too limited.
 

sysiphus

macrumors 6502a
May 7, 2006
816
1
Always a good thing to get more retail exposure. For those highlighting the differences between BB and Apple's approach to selling, it's true that most of the BB drones (at least in my local store) know nothing about the Macs, and only knew about the credit cards and service plans they were supposed to "attach". That being said, my own personal experience has been that most of the non-"Genius" people at the Apple store aren't really there for their superior product knowledge, either. My favorite Apple store anecdote comes from when I bought a dual G5 back in 2004--the sales girl insisted that I was incorrect about the G5 being able to take an Airport Extreme card :rolleyes:

Apple stores will always likely be a notch above for after-sales support/service, but for simple product demos/sales, it's great that Target's going to help pick up the slack in poorly-covered areas.
 

alhedges

macrumors 6502
Oct 5, 2008
395
0
I dont like it. I realize Apple is in the business of selling to the end user consumer but I just don't like the idea of apple being represented by Target. Might as well start selling Apple stuff at a 7-11

I am a professional musician by trade and this is like me going to a Best Buy to purchase my music equipment. No. Not gonna happen. Something is just not right about that.

Aren't you even a little embarrassed to be so shallow and concerned about what people might think if they see you going into Target?

Newsflash - Apple makes extremely popular consumer items. Buying the most popular cell phone or tablet sold in the US doesn't make you anything but an average consumer. And I would assume you wouldn't buy musical instruments at BB because they wouldn't have the products you needed. But apparently it has more to do with appearances.

In any event, I think this is a good choice for Apple. While I live 10 minutes away from an Apple store, there are a lot of people, even in my state, who live two or more hours away...and Apple should make it easier for them to get Apple products.
 

^^BIGMac

macrumors 6502a
Dec 10, 2009
881
527
Best Buy has a "Mac area"... the machines aren't even running Lion. Fail.

Target should be disaster.
 

Cheebo

macrumors member
Jan 13, 2012
36
0
They have to do this. Apple isn't the elite, selective sort of option anymore. When you are selling 100 million+ phones and 50 million+ tablets a year you are as mainstream as a gets. That sort of company fits in at a place like Target.
 

me2000

macrumors 6502
Sep 17, 2008
426
58
Right. When I go to target I feel ok. When I go to walmart, I can't wait to get the hell out of there.

Agreed! I don't think anyone is saying Target is high end shopping... it's just a totally different experience from atmosphere (no warehouse feeling) to employee friendliness (not saying Target is top notch.. you just don't get death glares from employees like you do at Walmart). Plus I usually don't have to wait 20-30 minutes in line at Target.
 

slynn

macrumors newbie
Jan 14, 2012
7
0
Georgia, USA
customer convenience!

Good news for people like me out in Hicksville.
The nearest Apple store to me is over an hour away.

Getting to the nearest Apple store in the Atlanta area can be a hassle. Here, we've got to go to a mall, with all the hassles of parking and dealing with crowds of mall-crawlers, and then you get into the Apple store and it's crazy busy. Instead, if there's a Target store with Apple people available, 'twould be nice.;)
 
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