Another New Apple Store Coming to Spain on May 12

[MacRumors]

Roughly two weeks after the debut of a new Apple retail store in Madrid, Apple is preparing to open another store in Spain. As noted by ifoAppleStore, Apple has officially announced that the grand opening of its Nueva Condomina store in Murcia will take place on Saturday, May 12.

The seventh Apple retail store in Spain will open this Saturday inside the Nueva Condomina shopping mall in the southern city of Murcia. The store fills in coverage along the Mediterranean coast of the country between existing stores in Valencia and Marbella.

The report notes that Apple is expected to open four more stores in Spain over the next year, marking a substantial expansion of the company's presence in the country.

Article Link: Another New Apple Store Coming to Spain on May 12

 

[medi.freak]

UGHHHH

I was hoping Alicante.....

Guess Murcia makes more sense looking at the map....and by the rate they are going the whole country will be full of them by the end of this year =P

 

[DrMotownMac]

¡Soy tan emocionado!

(No, not really. I'm American and I've never been to Spain. But good for them!)

Let the down votes begin!

 

[itsmemuffins]

When will Apple open it's first store in Ireland already?!

 

[MrNomNoms]

I'm surprised they're opening up another store given the economic tale-spin the Spanish economy is in right now.

 

[rgarjr]

(High percent people without jobs/money) + (New desirable shiny Apple products) = Dunno if that's a good idea

 

[alq]

Come on guys, Austria is still missing on the list!

And next, open one in Sao Paulo..

 

[erpetao]

granted there is higher than average unemployment here

To clarify, it's not just "higher than average unemployment", it's the highest (by far) unemployment rate of the whole western world.

50% youth unemployment

Anyway, people live with their parents until they are 30+, so they can afford to buy Apple products, I don't think that the state of the economy is a problem for Apple stores.

 

[heffeque]

Why is the comment about the Spanish economic situation always brought up when any Apple related subject is mentioned here?

Last time I looked there is a global economic crisis, granted there is higher than average unemployment here, but most people still work and have high wages! and even if Apple is making this move into Spain to take advantage of the lower than normal purchase prices. I trust Apples buying department know a thing or two about what makes sense and money!

Unemployment benefit in Spain averages 1000 euros NET monthly so even unemployed people have the right to save there money and buy what they want.

Spain also has some of the worlds largest companies a fact most people seem to forget.

I am not from Spain, but after living here for over 10 years I feel Spain as a whole seems to portray a image of some third world country for most people and this is far from the truth.

Wow... you're quite a positive guy taking into consideration that the right wing (PSOE) and the far right wing (PP) are destroying the welfare state.

How long do you think unemployment benefits are going to sustain the country? Do you really think that "it's just a little bump on the way" and that Spain is not going to continue going down but is actually going to recover to its former glory in just a couple years?

Also... the fact that it has a few large companies says nothing if the taxes don't go back to Spain. Most of those taxes end up going to Ireland, Switzerland, etc. and most of the stock holders aren't actually Spanish, so having companies like Repsol is totally useless for the Spanish people in general.

The one thing Spain was actually doing great at, renewable energy industry, the government just plain f*cked it up because most of the top government big guys are actually working for Endesa, Gas Natural, etc. an industry that would have got a huge punch in the nuts if renewable energy had continued climbing like it was and reducing electricity prices and foreign oil/gas/coal dependency.

Anyway... in Spain the rich are getting richer and the rest are getting poorer, so in a way, just like in the US, Italy, Greece, etc.

We'll have to see how things turn out, but Spain is definitely not going to recover "in just a few years" from the sh¡thole it got itself in.

 

[heffeque]

Regarding taxes! EVERY company uses loop holes! this has NOTHING to do with the comment I originally made! my comment (light hearted) was about the negative comments every time a rumor about a Spanish store opening,

If you want to go into loop holes and tax evasion, google Cayman islands etc. etc. this has NOTHING to do with Spain. UK AND USA companies use these loop holes. just one

The rich have always got richer in hard times (Bankia) but this does not subtract from the the amount of new companies that are growing in Spain. ( I myself included) Spain still has a huge growing potential and this will be reflected in the coming years.

Spain as a whole has never had its glory years as you put it, (olympics BCN apart)

Spanish people as a whole are there worst enemy, always thinking (fuera es major) Spain as a whole has much more to give and hence so many people still believe in Spain and the possibilities that STILL exist here.

But anyways back to the topic in hand! Apple opens another store in Spain. BUT NOT the SOL store

You seem to live in a parallel universe.

The reality is that hundreds of people are being kicked out of their own homes; people are starting to die because the government is transforming the cheap but very very efficient Spanish health system into the privatized inefficient American health system; more and more people are starting to be long term unemployed which means more and more people are NOT getting any of the unemployment benefits; job quality (and what they pay) is going down like a homesick mole; public education is being used by the government like a rag doll, trying to privatize it, making it like third world countries instead of the best education systems like the ones on northern Europe, that are almost completely public; more and more old people don't get enough money to actually EAT without their children helping them out economically; more and more families are starting to have to go and eat to soup kitchens; most highly educated students have to emigrate because there are no jobs; heck, even the latinos, moroccans and other immigrants are going back to their countries!

Just an example: in computer science we were about 30 or so. Only about 10 stayed in Spain. The rest of us are now working in other countries.

Spain is paying to educate students... so that they can go and work in another country? What kind of an investment is that?

You must live in the upper class if you still haven't seen what's really going on in the middle and specially in the lower class.

Spain is slowly transforming into Brazil, were there's barely no middle class, the difference between classes is huge and there's people that actually have a tough time buying their own food.
The higher class obviously doesn't see any of this, they only see angry masses that protest against their objective: stealing more money from the middle and lower class. They don't actually see the impact of this nor do they care. Neofeudalism, that's what it's called.

Also... I'm sure you probably didn't know that right now in Spain there's a higher amount of people committing suicide than deaths by car accident, and no, it's not because Spanish people are specially skilled drivers. You probably don't know that it has gotten worse recently.

Also, comparing different countries' economic welfare, they shouldn't show the "mean" income per capita, they should show the "median" income per capita. That would show the true welfare of the society.

 

[funtime180]

Im English!

Why is the comment about the Spanish economic situation always brought up when any Apple related subject is mentioned here?

Last time I looked there is a global economic crisis, granted there is higher than average unemployment here, but most people still work and have high wages! and even if Apple is making this move into Spain to take advantage of the lower than normal purchase prices. I trust Apples buying department know a thing or two about what makes sense and money!

Unemployment benefit in Spain averages 1000 euros NET monthly so even unemployed people have the right to save there money and buy what they want.

Spain also has some of the worlds largest companies a fact most people seem to forget.

I am not from Spain, but after living here for over 10 years I feel Spain as a whole seems to portray a image of some third world country for most people and this is far from the truth.

Im English, and live here in Spain. Perhaps you could tell me how I can get 1000€/month, as when I asked they told me that I was not entitled to anything. I thought that we were in Europe, but it seems that Spain only rakes from The EU and does not contribute anything nor does it treat the members fairly.

Example: Spain says that everyone should carry an ID card, Spanish people a DNI and foreigners Tarjeta de Identificacion Extranjera. The EU says that members of the EU should not be treated like outsiders, so dont carry a foreigners ID card. This leaves Britons in an unfortunate situation. They want us to carry ID but wont supply us with any. Why should we have to carry passports(for full name and photo), NIE certificates(to verify everything), Residencia(prove we live here) papers and a driving license? Thats discrimination as outsiders only have to carry a DNIE card?

However if Spanish people go to England, have an address = they get everything! Unfair treatment of the people who built the roads they drive on, and give then a whole boat load of money.

You seem like you are in the know, help me out here.

Thanks!

 

[heffeque]

Seems to me you have various personal issues. hence I am not going to respond to you.

Now THAT's a good excuse so as not to answer... *slow clap*

It gets personal when you see the higher class stealing from the middle and lower class while telling the police to beat up peaceful protesters (http://youtu.be/nuSXkmN3AXI), killing innocent people (http://goo.gl/j5nC6), hitting school kids that want their rights back (http://youtu.be/42upGmB1Jm4) and even doing their thing with old ladies (http://youtu.be/q02ccp08qks).

And one that's more disturbing than the guy the policemen killed. Policemen popping eyes out (very disturbing, NSFW):
http://youtu.be/O77G6yvv3t8

Are these things part of a proper first world country? Do you really think that things are magically going to get better?

If you're not helping, you're part of the problem.

Either way... you probably don't want to answer because you prefer NOT to see what's truly happening to the country. Hope the reality bubble doesn't burst too hard on you (whenever it does).

 

[H2SO4]

You seem to live in a parallel universe.

The reality is that hundreds of people are being kicked out of their own homes; people are starting to die because the government is transforming the cheap but very very efficient Spanish health system into the privatized inefficient American health system; more and more people are starting to be long term unemployed which means more and more people are NOT getting any of the unemployment benefits; job quality (and what they pay) is going down like a homesick mole; public education is being used by the government like a rag doll, trying to privatize it, making it like third world countries instead of the best education systems like the ones on northern Europe, that are almost completely public; more and more old people don't get enough money to actually EAT without their children helping them out economically; more and more families are starting to have to go and eat to soup kitchens; most highly educated students have to emigrate because there are no jobs; heck, even the latinos, moroccans and other immigrants are going back to their countries!

Just an example: in computer science we were about 30 or so. Only about 10 stayed in Spain. The rest of us are now working in other countries.

Spain is paying to educate students... so that they can go and work in another country? What kind of an investment is that?

You must live in the upper class if you still haven't seen what's really going on in the middle and specially in the lower class.

Spain is slowly transforming into Brazil, were there's barely no middle class, the difference between classes is huge and there's people that actually have a tough time buying their own food.
The higher class obviously doesn't see any of this, they only see angry masses that protest against their objective: stealing more money from the middle and lower class. They don't actually see the impact of this nor do they care. Neofeudalism, that's what it's called.

Also... I'm sure you probably didn't know that right now in Spain there's a higher amount of people committing suicide than deaths by car accident, and no, it's not because Spanish people are specially skilled drivers. You probably don't know that it has gotten worse recently.

Also, comparing different countries' economic welfare, they shouldn't show the "mean" income per capita, they should show the "median" income per capita. That would show the true welfare of the society.

Do you mean 'Modal' income? (as an indicator of what most people earn).

 

[onigami]

Stuff about being English in Spain

Well, for starters, the UK, while a member of the EU, has refused to sign most of the agreements related to the EU. You have no Euro, no Schengen, and only a few treaties that make you ostensibly a member. Schengen is key here: Because the UK is not part of the Schengen area, Schengen nations have a right to treat UK citizens however they please. (And I say bollocks to your "but they get everything in my homeland!" argument. Stop sounding like Russell Howard's magical racist cat)

 

[juanm]

Seems to me you have various personal issues. hence I am not going to respond to you.

Actually, all of his points are valid, whereas pretty much everything you said sounds like wishful thinking...

Spain is so deep in its current problems, it'll take a solid 15 to 20 years to solve them, and by then, they will have lost whatever competitive edge they had and will have to face new problems. Pretty much everybody I know who is qualified and under 35 intends to leave the country, which means in 10 years, the country will be left with uneducated people, a quickly-diminishing working force, and an increasing number of retired people. At this point, who will pay for the retirements, when the generation that was supposed to take the baton had a 50% unemployment rate, low wages, and couldn't start making long term decisions until age 45?

After eight years of the previous government's immobilism and lets-wait-until-it-gets-better policies, all the measures taken by the newly elected PP government are serving either their own personal purposes, the PP party purposes at regional level, or are being taken keeping in mind only short term problems.

 

[GoCubsGo]

Who knew that a news article on a new Apple store opening could turn into a potential PRSI thread?!

I for one think heffeque brings up valid points and it seems that there are some who truly don't experience the economic hardships themselves so it is easier (albeit silly) to basically dispel them. But what do I know? I'm 'murican.

 

[heffeque]

Do you mean 'Modal' income? (as an indicator of what most people earn).

Here's an example of why Mode can also be misleading:
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet/ccc?key=0AjqfpE1MKqeWdFM2NTF0UllZcURFRWdXX1lBcnpDanc

Statistics on those numbers say that:

• the "average" person earns 330 units (which is obviously far from reality)
• the most common earnings are 35 units (which is true but...)
• yet the median is as low as 15 units (which is the best true indicator of the people's income)

 

[MrNomNoms]

Why is the comment about the Spanish economic situation always brought up when any Apple related subject is mentioned here?

Last time I looked there is a global economic crisis, granted there is higher than average unemployment here, but most people still work and have high wages! and even if Apple is making this move into Spain to take advantage of the lower than normal purchase prices. I trust Apples buying department know a thing or two about what makes sense and money!

Unemployment benefit in Spain averages 1000 euros NET monthly so even unemployed people have the right to save there money and buy what they want.

Spain also has some of the worlds largest companies a fact most people seem to forget.

I am not from Spain, but after living here for over 10 years I feel Spain as a whole seems to portray a image of some third world country for most people and this is far from the truth.

Please, what planet are you living on? this is the reason why the Euro-zone is circling the toilet and getting ready for the long dive down into the bowl and around the bend. Spain has 24.4% unemployment in the general population with youth unemployment also twice that, then add on top of that the banks with over $200billion in toxic assets, the government itself having debt up to its eye balls - so please, stop it it with the unwarranted optimism.

Btw, you boasting about the 1000 euro per month unemployment? just you wait when the government has to start cutting costs on the third rail of politics (social welfare) where I doubt you'll keep claiming that everything is ok onboard the titanic - just a small leak that could be fixed with a couple of four by two's and a glue gun.

 

[And1ss]

Isnt the Spanish economy not to so well? I wonder why Apple is investing a lot into the country...

 

[aziatiklover]

Now THAT's a good excuse so as not to answer... *slow clap*

It gets personal when you see the higher class stealing from the middle and lower class while telling the police to beat up peaceful protesters (http://youtu.be/nuSXkmN3AXI), killing innocent people (http://goo.gl/j5nC6), hitting school kids that want their rights back (http://youtu.be/42upGmB1Jm4) and even doing their thing with old ladies (http://youtu.be/q02ccp08qks).

And one that's more disturbing than the guy the policemen killed. Policemen popping eyes out (very disturbing, NSFW):
http://youtu.be/O77G6yvv3t8

Are these things part of a proper first world country? Do you really think that things are magically going to get better?

If you're not helping, you're part of the problem.

Either way... you probably don't want to answer because you prefer NOT to see what's truly happening to the country. Hope the reality bubble doesn't burst too hard on you (whenever it does).

I don't live in spain nor did i ever been there, but man the way you discribe spain. I feel like it's a damn third wolrd country or are they going to? I think I need someone to school me about spain.

 

[heffeque]

I don't live in spain nor did i ever been there, but man the way you discribe spain. I feel like it's a damn third wolrd country or are they going to? I think I need someone to school me about spain.

It's been more than ok for a few decades. Relaxed life stile, great for party tourism as well as cultural/nature related trips, people were working "enough" while earning enough money for a comfortable life, it had literally the best public health system in the world for several years... although education-wise it was a bit flaky, and politicians and "the 1%" were stealing from the middle and lower class, but sense life was good, nobody complained.

The problem is that now that the economy is going down like a roller-coaster, people aren't so tolerant with them anymore, and as a result, the politicians and the 1% took off their "mister nice guy" masks and started ******** everything and everybody up.

Spain was a really REALLY good place to live. I've lived in a few countries and I've also traveled a lot and I definitely love Spain's way of life and it's commodities.
Too bad politicians and the 1% keep trying to steal everything they can even now that people are better informed than ever and they can't hide stuff as well as before social media was relevant.

Latest news (in one tweet): https://twitter.com/#!/manu_garcia/status/199861782662234113

April 9th: The president cuts 10.000 million € in education and health
May 7th: Bankia will receive 10.000 million € from the government.

And what's the punishment for the guys who put Bankia in such a huge mess that the government "had" to pay? Well the punishment is actually to give them HUGE ammounts of money ( http://www.lasextanoticias.com/videos/ver/los_infames_sueldazos_de_bankia/595423 ). In a "normal" (non-corrupted) country they would be in jail, not rewarded with bags of money.

Hope all this helped to put everything into perspective.

 

[aziatiklover]

It's been more than ok for a few decades. Relaxed life stile, great for party tourism as well as cultural/nature related trips, people were working "enough" while earning enough money for a comfortable life, it had literally the best public health system in the world for several years... although education-wise it was a bit flaky, and politicians and "the 1%" were stealing from the middle and lower class, but sense life was good, nobody complained.

The problem is that now that the economy is going down like a roller-coaster, people aren't so tolerant with them anymore, and as a result, the politicians and the 1% took off their "mister nice guy" masks and started ******** everything and everybody up.

Spain was a really REALLY good place to live. I've lived in a few countries and I've also traveled a lot and I definitely love Spain's way of life and it's commodities.
Too bad politicians and the 1% keep trying to steal everything they can even now that people are better informed than ever and they can't hide stuff as well as before social media was relevant.

Latest news (in one tweet): https://twitter.com/#!/manu_garcia/status/199861782662234113

April 9th: The president cuts 10.000 million € in education and health
May 7th: Bankia will receive 10.000 million € from the government.

And what's the punishment for the guys who put Bankia in such a huge mess that the government "had" to pay? Well the punishment is actually to give them HUGE ammounts of money ( http://www.lasextanoticias.com/videos/ver/los_infames_sueldazos_de_bankia/595423 ). In a "normal" (non-corrupted) country they would be in jail, not rewarded with bags of money.

Hope all this helped to put everything into perspective.

I see thanx for the infos, but is spain a OK corrupted country? Can you scale the level with a corrupted country such as russia or china or even mexico ect.....

 

[wschutz]

Spain only rakes from The EU and does not contribute anything nor does it treat the members fairly

I think that you should not say these things when UK is the country that does not want to be in the EU, but it is for geographical reasons mostly, and it is always bargaining a way out for every single directive...
Besides, when Spain got into the EU, it received a lot of funds as it was not as developed as nowadays, but now that is different, and Spain is not raking anything... no more than other countries such as France, Germany or Sweden.
Be fair in your statements... specially when comparing with UK

Example: Spain says that everyone should carry an ID card, Spanish people a DNI and foreigners Tarjeta de Identificacion Extranjera.

[...]

However if Spanish people go to England, have an address = they get everything! Unfair treatment of the people who built the roads they drive on, and give then a whole boat load of money.

You seem to miss something... Spain, and every other country within the EU, has full sovereignty on how it identifies its citizens, and as a citizen myself I'm obliged by law to carry my DNI but... and this is something you might not know, if I don't carry it and the Police asks me to identify to them, I won't be fined nor put in jail, they just have the right to take me to the Police station and identify me there; that's all.
As a foreigner I'm not aware of the rules, if they change, but I don't see any discrimination anywhere. You are not forced to get the NIE unless you want or you have to (remember that if you move to any country within the EU for more than 3 months you have to register with the local authorities of that country, and that will likely grant you the famous NIE

I would love England to be part of Schengen treaty... but unfortunately this is one of those things I will never understand, and I do think it is very unfair to do so...
So no... don't put England as an example of anything because we both now it is not. The EU should be a big happy family and not just a union of countries complaining about each other's economy and this or that, it's tiring and that's why EU is the way it is, just a union for trading and no more (the rest is just a big bloat of crap)

 

[juanm]

I see thanx for the infos, but is spain a OK corrupted country? Can you scale the level with a corrupted country such as russia or china or even mexico ect.....

If, by your question, you mean whether you can get out of a speeding ticket or small crimes with a bribe, the answer is no. That's not the kind of corruption we're facing. On the other hand, if you used the city money and your influence, to...:

1- ...Expropriate 400 poor people and move them to some social lodging somewhere else to make room in order to...
2- ...Build a public building at a projected cost of 18.000.000€ (with an actual cost of 30.000.000€)for a project that's not financially sound
3- Give the construction works to two construction companies whose CEOs happened to go to the same school as you.
4- Get your two brothers in law and three cousins to work there for 4000 real euros a month doing imaginary work
5- Close the project after two years because it really was losing lots of money
6- Resell the building to another high school friend's company for 10.000.000€
7- Give subsidies to that company to promote local industry in exchange of hiring the aforementioned cousins and brothers in law

... in that case, chances are, you'll never face court.



Really, the only problem the average Spaniard will be directly affected by is nepotism. This one is so ingrown, that if they started applying the law, the accused would probably be in the hundreds of thousands. The first thing any public director at local or regional level does when he is elected, is to promote friends and family to 3000€+ jobs, to serve two purposes: do them a favor, and ensure that whatever illegal or questionable activities he does, nobody will complain. Of course, to compensate for this, they will also create another job so the actual work of the friend/family member gets done (of course, on temporary contracts, and 1200€ salary at the most)

However, the massive debt we now have is because of public mis-spending.

There are several other huge problems, though:

The political scene is hugely dominated by two parties (PSOE-Left and PP-Right). They are both experts at screwing up, showing the other party's screw-ups, and hiding their own. The way votes are counted (as odd as it seems, not all votes count the same) it's virtually impossible for any other party to even consider winning. Of course, it's necessary to obtain a majority in order to change this counting method, and neither party any incentive in doing that.
One of the problems in the current Spanish party is that it's not like in France, where they recruit among the elites, but instead, they reward long-term membership. So you can have, like now, a minister of the Department of Work who has NEVER worked in a private company. She has jumped from designated public jobs to designated public jobs all her life.

That's the big picture.

One of the huge economic problems is that Comunidades (states, so to speak) Diputaciones (regional level), and Ayuntamientos (city/town level) have had basically complete freedom to do anything they wanted with public money. As a result, if the mayor of a small city in the middle of nowhere felt the need to build something like an airport or a stadium, he could just do it, as long as it got approved by his party buddies at the public assembly.
This powerpoint file I just uploaded shows some of the more blatant examples, but the list is endless...
https://hotfile.com/dl/155603408/695ddff/ESPAA_PAIS_DE_MILLONARIOS.ppt.html

The housing problem, in spain, is better explained by this funny video:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PSGp2Hh1jQ4
It's subtitled, but you'll probably need to pause it often to read. It explains pretty much everything.

 

[heffeque]

The political scene is hugely dominated by two parties (PSOE-Left and PP-Right).

Actually that was a very very good good sum up of the political situation in Spain... except maybe that PSOE hasn't been acting like a left winged party for years. Remember that right wing and left wing is about the economic laws that are approved, a mentality generally linked with the rest of the laws approved, but not always.

Example:

• Give more rights to homosexuals. Right winged parties in the UE also gave them but it has nothing to do with economy.
• Cutting social benefits. Those are economy related laws and that's what PSOE did during their last years. A "socialist" party cutting social benefits. Obviously PSOE isn't socialist anymore, so it can't be considered left wing anymore.

It actually is true that PSOE is more progressive with gay marriage, teen pregnancy issues, etc. but that doesn't make left or right, economy related laws do.

I know that you probably know that already and that you say it that way so that it would be easier to understand, but I just wanted to point out that what has always been defined as left vs right (PSOE vs PP) is in reality right vs extreme-right.

The US is actually worse in that sense. Both republicans and democrats pass the same laws (Obama has done little or nothing of what he promised he would) and, unlike in Spain, in the US voting for a third party is the same as throwing your vote down the drain or not voting at all, so basically it's the "white cat vs black cat in Mouseland" story IRL (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GEYwVb-6TeE). Maybe the level of monetary corruption is lower in the States, but the level of democracy is far worse than other first world countries.

But that's another matter completely so I'll refrain from starting the bashing