Apple is Permanently Closing Three U.S. Stores in June

[LuckydawgEsq.]

This is sad. The Escondido store is the closest to my brother's house since he lives in town. Fashion Valley it is I guess, they usually have more availability there anyway. Oddly enough I bought the M1 Air in gold at this store in November 2020 after the Fashion Valley store ran out of stock.

There's still the Apple store in Carlsbad at the Forum off Calle Barcelona.

 

[MothJab]

Welp this disproves all that nonsense that he Tim Cook says he’s “not political”. He’s also a fascist shill clearly.

 

[rampagual]

I hate unions…

 

[MacFan782040]

I hate seeing malls die, I really wish someone would figure out how to rehabilitate them into community areas that still have a shopping focus. Some mall areas are doing it by doing more outward and inward facing resturants, stores, and even residential but it's few and far between and many are just in bad areas that couldn't support something like that...I feel like schools would be an easy option too, but I have to imagine many of the buildings arn't worth the upkeep.

Mixed use town centers are the future. Retail, restaurants, apartments, townhomes, green space and parks, hotels, libraries, coffee shops, community events. Walkabilty. Thats what these need to be.

 

[TigerNike23]

It's honestly shocking we still have 2 stores in St. Louis

West County I assume is the better of the two?

 

[teh_hunterer]

The fact that the Towson mall has lost 3 or 4 non-anchor stores doesn’t really justify Apple’s closure. All retail locations have some turnover. The Apple Store is always busy there, and that mall is huge (128 other non-food stores on 5 levels with two big anchors - Nordstrom and Macy’s). I’m sorry to say, this smells like union busting dressed up to look like the other malls in the story.

And yet Towson mall is described even in this comment section as a "sewer of violent crime". You think Apple wants to keep a store in such an area?

I don't think unionising has ever meant that a business has to stay open. You can unionise all you want, but they don't have to keep operating.

 

[Naraxus]

"Update: In a statement to MacRumors, the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers (IAM) Union said that it is "outraged" by Apple's decision to close the Towson store, and will be exploring legal options to hold Apple accountable."

Unions are absolutely ********* and here is a prime example. They're "outraged" alright. They're outraged their grift is coming to an end. This happens all the time with unions. They force employers to cowtow to unreasonable demands and then get pissy when the company shuts down due the union's bankrupting them.

What's Apple supposed to do? Keep an unprofitable store open in a dead mall? You're in retail. It's not meant to be a permanent job. You are utterly expendable.

I'm 100% behind and supportive of all union busting efforts.

 

[dawhol9]

They only have Irvine, Brea and south coast plaza. One of them is being remodelled and is in a replacement store for the time being in orange county.

Dont forget Fashion Island in Newport Beach and Mission Viejo.

 

[dawhol9]

Does Apple even need Stores in their current implementation? I have not been excited about visiting an Apple Store for over a decade if not longer (have been an Apple customer since 1988). Most of their third party stuff is ridiculously overpriced anyways. You can buy all of their lineup online and not necessarily from Apple. Repairs is the only draw but does it justify the capital required to run these stores. Perhaps these stores make sense from the marketing perspective but then they should be in absolutely coveted areas of major hubs not in malls, which are quickly becoming a thing of the past anyways, only hurting the brand. What Apple should do is restart their efforts to provide their best support possible for small boutique Apple-focused repair shops instead of suffocating them with costs and competition from Apple itself. I might be wrong in my assessment but I feel that the issue is not just store locations alone.

I think the huge profits yearly show they know how to run a company. I love the armchair CEO's that question a trillion dollar companies business plan.

 

[goldmac2006]

Dont forget Fashion Island in Newport Beach and Mission Viejo.

that counts too; these aren't being remodeled at the time being

 

[svish]

With low footfall, this is bound to happen. Apple will definitely relocate to locations where more customers will come in.

 

[relaxedpanda]

This comes up regularly and there is an intentional reason for there being no store related to tax structuring.

I swear it's the same people who bring this up every time moaning.

Be grateful your country is so rich now because you gave every corporate company in the world a way to avoid paying taxes. I love Ireland, I really do, but you can't have your cake and eat it too.

 

[lipnorth]

The closing of the Trumbull store hurts. The first selectman of our town even sent out a memo talking about how upsetting it was for the community.

Unfortunately, the Trumbull mall, where the Apple Store is, is a dying mall, but I wish they would’ve found a way to keep a store in the area because without one this area is underserved. To get to a store is about a 45 minute drive in any direction.

The Apple Store in Trumbull was always busy and the staff was friendly.

 

[Reason077]

The Towson mall and surrounding area is a sewer of violent crime. I'm surprised anyone with 2 brain cells patrons that place.

Not only that, if the Google reviews are to be believed, Apple Towson Town Center sounds like it's just one of the worst Apple stores. Reports of uninterested employees, long waits and delays for service, and even iPhones being stolen while under Apple's care and Apple refusing to replace them.

 

[HQuest]

For anyone not local to the Baltimore area, do yourself a favor and Google how much crime has happened in or around the Towson Town Center in the post pandemic, coincidentally after some new housing developments happened nearby. Try not to overlook the minors related incidents happening inside the mall - most of the time at the same floor and right next the Apple Store location. Then you can come to your own conclusions: is it a unionized problem, or is it a location problem?

As a local, I say it’s the latter. Many stores closed, are closing and will close in this town center. Around the area, there used to be tons of vape stores; now you have a ton of dispensaries. The parking lot is always, ALWAYS smelling cannabis. Is it unfortunate? Yes. Will I miss the convenience? Absolutely. Do I feel bad for the employees? No questions. Do I feel Apple is in the wrong? Nope, this is still Baltimore area after all.

 

[clayj]

The short version is that Apple are not going to keep a store in a mall which has even the faintest whiff of failure hanging around it. They broke their lease at Apple Northlake in Charlotte back in 2023 (and moved several miles up the road to a non-mall location) because the mall got a reputation for being unsafe and had a higher-than-normal percentage of local (non-chain) businesses in the mall. Northlake is dying and everyone knows it. Apple only wants to have stores in thriving locations.

 

[Hmm]

The closing of the Trumbull store hurts. The first selectman of our town even sent out a memo talking about how upsetting it was for the community.

Unfortunately, the Trumbull mall, where the Apple Store is, is a dying mall, but I wish they would’ve found a way to keep a store in the area because without one this area is underserved. To get to a store is about a 45 minute drive in any direction.

The Apple Store in Trumbull was always busy and the staff was friendly.

The Trumbull mall was my mall growing up in the 80’s. Sad to hear that it’s dying. Still, Connecticut has a surprising number of Apple Stores for such a small state. 45 minutes may seem like a lot, but there are larger states where it takes hours to get to one.

 

[switz]

It seems to be too convenient that a unionized store could be closed because of a location choice corporate Apple made.

So, in real estate the three words are location, location, & location. Fortunately, it appears Apple does not "own" the property and is just ending their lease for space.

The agreed unio0n contract described apparently has a clause that if the store closed, the workers had to apply as a new employee at another store. Their prior union activity will probably place their application at the bottom of the bird cage.

Our actions can sometimes have unintended consequences. Lots of recent history to support that premise....

 

[Asyd Rayn]

Wow, worked at Towson Towne when it was a small hole in the wall as a student at Poly. At the time I slung steaks at Emerson's Steak House. I visit and have been wowed by the growth of that place/mall. I would think being a spit across from Goucher College, and a stone's throw from Towson University, it certainly is a location with the demographic Apple caters to product wise.

If the unionization of the Towson store is the cause for the closure, it's a shame. Visited there just last year and the place was packed and the sales people were quite helpful as always.

 

[goldmac2006]

Wow, worked at Towson Towne when it was a small hole in the wall as a student at Poly. At the time I slung steaks at Emerson's Steak House. I visit and have been wowed by the growth of that place/mall. I would think being a spit across from Goucher College, and a stone's throw from Towson University, it certainly is a location with the demographic Apple caters to product wise.

If the unionization of the Towson store is the cause for the closure, it's a shame. Visited there just last year and the place was packed and the sales people were quite helpful as always.

They’ll have to end up moving on to nearby stores once they close down.

 

[Reason077]

a higher-than-normal percentage of local (non-chain) businesses in the mall.

It’s a shame that this is considered a negative thing. Does every mall have to be a copy-cat of the next with the same collection of generic chain stores? I guess they do…

 

[Asyd Rayn]

They’ll have to end up moving on to nearby stores once they close down.

Interesting, they have stores in Columbia, Annapolis and two stores in my hometown of Bethesda, MD. Those stores will be a hike for applicants wanting to continue working in the retail locations.

 

[switz]

Phoenix, Arizona has a huge urban sprawl. We have five Apple stores. The real money resides in the Scottsdale area of North Phoenix and has two of the five stores. My closest store is San Tan Village and it is a 20 minute highway drive with one stop light at the off ramp for the limited access 202 highway.

For perspective, it takes almost an hour to go from the east side to the northwest side of Phoenix to head into the mountains at the posted 65 mph (which seems to be a reference number on signs but driven at 75 and higher by those looking for "performance awards" from the occasional state police officer 😳 😱 😎 ).

 

[goldmac2006]

Interesting, they have stores in Columbia, Annapolis and two stores in my hometown of Bethesda, MD. Those stores will be a hike for applicants wanting to continue working in the retail locations.

That’s how it works when a store goes into permanent closure and doesn’t reopen or get a replacement store like Hornsby in Australia, that one was the latest closure before these US stores close soon

 

[python3000]

I miss the malls of yesteryear. They were a great place to shop, hangout, catch a movie, and eat a decently priced meal. Unfortunately, today’s shopping experience has non-competitive prices as compared to online, rowdy teens, petty theft, parking/traffic woes, exorbitantly priced moviegoing experiences, and restaurants that have marched steadily upwards in pricing and steadily downward in quality and portion sizes. Apple stores tend to be an anomaly where they have steady foot traffic but there doesn’t seem to be much attachment to the buying experience with other adjacent stores. Our outdoor mall struggles to keep tenants and has an increasing number of vacancies while Apple still has a line on launch days. Anyone who wants to enjoy a bit of nostalgia should check out Dan Bell’s Dead Mall series on YouTube. It’s a fascinating exploration of what once was the center of the American shopping and entertainment experience.

I live just south of the Escondido mall, but rarely go to it. It's old, has a ton of unruly kids, and has no real appeal to adults with money (except Target and we have one closer anyway).

I bought some Apple stuff at that store.

It is in a great location. Should convert 1/3 of land to apartments, and the other part to a bit more modern stores with better security. It still could be great hang out spot.