Apple Opening New Store in Sweden, But Permanently Closing Another

[MacRumors]

Apple has announced that it will be opening a new retail store at the Mall of Scandinavia, near Stockholm, Sweden, as noted by Michael Steeber today in his Tabletops newsletter. Apple says the store will open in 2024, but it has yet to share an exact date.

Apple Mall of Scandinavia via Feber​

Apple has three other stores in Sweden, but one will be permanently closing eventually. In a statement shared with Swedish publication Feber last week, Apple said it will not be renewing its lease for its Väla Centrum store in Ödåkra, Sweden. Apple has yet to disclose an exact closure date for that location.

This news comes after Apple opened a new store in Seoul, South Korea, and permanently closed its Infinite Loop and Royal Hawaiian stores, all on January 20.

Apple operates 528 retail stores worldwide as of today.

Article Link: Apple Opening New Store in Sweden, But Permanently Closing Another

 

[anthogag]

The Apple giveth and the Apple taketh

 

[Lioness~]

Great job MacRumors!…to get the Swedish åäö right 👍🏻

Hope that next Apple Store in Sweden comes to the the Swedish West Coast - nothing here yet.
But we wait very patiently for it.

 

[PowerMac5500]

I remember the grand opening of the Chicago apple store in 2003. I would go there weekly to hang out, browse products and accessories. Loved it. It has since moved to some sort of amphitheater type "building" by the river, and now offers one of the most boring experiences in Chicago.

My point. Apple stores used to be interesting and now they are so incredibly boring.

 

[klasma]

Does Apple allow third-party stores for side-purchasing?

 

[k1121j]

I remember the grand opening of the Chicago apple store in 2003. I would go there weekly to hang out, browse products and accessories. Loved it. It has since moved to some sort of amphitheater type "building" by the river, and now offers one of the most boring experiences in Chicago.

My point. Apple stores used to be interesting and now they are so incredibly boring.

I agree really no need to even go browse really.

 

[Grey Area]

The Apple Store situation is weird in Sweden. Three stores - one in Stockholm (biggest city, makes sense), one in Malmö (3rd biggest, makes sense), and one in little Ödåkra/Helsingborg rather than Gothenburg (2nd biggest). So now they close Ödåkra, and Stockholm gets yet another store while Gothenburg stays without. Individually I can see how a second store in Stockholm is useful, the current one is outside the subway range and mostly serves the car-happy northern suburbs, missing out on all the inner city hipsters, the new store will fix that. But two out of three stores nation-wide in one city seems a bit off.

 

[TokyoKiller]

I agree really no need to even go browse really.

I mostly go in now to see something I am debating purchase in either a finish or size I am unsure about then place my order online, it is quite boring in there nowadays.

 

[magdogg]

Great, bit more accessible than the previous location!

 

[Blackstick]

I can't remember a time where Apple was closing stores (Hawaii and now Sweden)... the Infinite Loop company store doesn't count because Apple Park is a few mins away.

 

[Jeaz]

It's been quite strange they've not yet had one in Mall of Scandinavia, feels like a mall made with an Apple Store in mind.

 

[koil]

The Apple Store situation is weird in Sweden. Three stores - one in Stockholm (biggest city, makes sense), one in Malmö (3rd biggest, makes sense), and one in little Ödåkra/Helsingborg rather than Gothenburg (2nd biggest). So now they close Ödåkra, and Stockholm gets yet another store while Gothenburg stays without. Individually I can see how a second store in Stockholm is useful, the current one is outside the subway range and mostly serves the car-happy northern suburbs, missing out on all the inner city hipsters, the new store will fix that. But two out of three stores nation-wide in one city seems a bit off.

Gothenburg: *exists*

Apple:


Feels bad man 😢

 

[okänd]

The store is where you go to pick up online orders more quickly or to try out the sizes of watch bands, no need to be much more than a hole in the wall to be honest.

 

[Frixos]

The Apple Store situation is weird in Sweden. Three stores - one in Stockholm (biggest city, makes sense), one in Malmö (3rd biggest, makes sense), and one in little Ödåkra/Helsingborg rather than Gothenburg (2nd biggest). So now they close Ödåkra, and Stockholm gets yet another store while Gothenburg stays without. Individually I can see how a second store in Stockholm is useful, the current one is outside the subway range and mostly serves the car-happy northern suburbs, missing out on all the inner city hipsters, the new store will fix that. But two out of three stores nation-wide in one city seems a bit off.

Well, the one is in Täby outside of Stockholm. No one there would say it's Stockholm. But I'm not sure why you bring up the subway range point. Mall of Scandinavia doesn't have a subway stop. It's closer to central Stockholm, being in Solna, but it's still not technically in Stockholm.

 

[Mrkevinfinnerty]

One store closes another one opens. Probably wasn't spatial enough.

 

[ElectricPotato]

The Apple giveth and the Apple taketh

I remember when Apple did the former with a U2 album followed by customers demanding the latter.

 

[ElectricPotato]

Probably wasn't spatial enough.

Should have used a collapsed quantum tesseract.

 

[Lioness~]

The Apple Store situation is weird in Sweden. Three stores - one in Stockholm (biggest city, makes sense), one in Malmö (3rd biggest, makes sense), and one in little Ödåkra/Helsingborg rather than Gothenburg (2nd biggest). So now they close Ödåkra, and Stockholm gets yet another store while Gothenburg stays without. Individually I can see how a second store in Stockholm is useful, the current one is outside the subway range and mostly serves the car-happy northern suburbs, missing out on all the inner city hipsters, the new store will fix that. But two out of three stores nation-wide in one city seems a bit off.

They are probably looking for a good place in central Gothenburg as well. Probably not the easiest thing.
At least I hope they do 🙏🏼🤞🏼

 

[Wahlstrm]

Thankfully a much better option than the original plan to put it in Kungsträdgården.

 

[Bodhitree]

I wouldn’t mind taking over a closing down Apple Store just for a few days and playing with all the toys.

 

[Shirasaki]

The Apple Store situation is weird in Sweden. Three stores - one in Stockholm (biggest city, makes sense), one in Malmö (3rd biggest, makes sense), and one in little Ödåkra/Helsingborg rather than Gothenburg (2nd biggest). So now they close Ödåkra, and Stockholm gets yet another store while Gothenburg stays without. Individually I can see how a second store in Stockholm is useful, the current one is outside the subway range and mostly serves the car-happy northern suburbs, missing out on all the inner city hipsters, the new store will fix that. But two out of three stores nation-wide in one city seems a bit off.

Sydney is also in a bit of dilemma with Apple Store distribution. CBD has 2 that’s 40 min to 1 hour walking between each other. And outer suburb got some but they are far and few between, requiring hours of drive or public transport. But overall I think it’s still a bit better than what Sweden is now, given Sweden is a sizeable country compared to the size of greater Sydney.

 

[svish]

Looking forward to seeing photos from the new store opening.

 

[thevil]

The Apple Store situation is weird in Sweden. Three stores - one in Stockholm (biggest city, makes sense), one in Malmö (3rd biggest, makes sense), and one in little Ödåkra/Helsingborg rather than Gothenburg (2nd biggest). So now they close Ödåkra, and Stockholm gets yet another store while Gothenburg stays without. Individually I can see how a second store in Stockholm is useful, the current one is outside the subway range and mostly serves the car-happy northern suburbs, missing out on all the inner city hipsters, the new store will fix that. But two out of three stores nation-wide in one city seems a bit off.

Weirdness barely scratches the surface when it comes to describing the dismal state of affairs in Sweden.

Apple's headquarters should delve deep into the predicament and unravel the enigma that shrouds Apple Sweden.

Stockholm remains devoid of an Apple store.
Gothenburg, too, lacks a store.

Originally, there was talk of a (sort of) flagship store gracing Stockholm, specifically in Kungstradgarden, amidst other corporate flagships, show rooms, etc. However, Apple's fumbled business negotiations left them without a spot.

The existing store finds its home in Täby, a place akin to Stockholm as New Jersey is to New York. Interestingly, the CEO of Apple Sweden resided there when the store opened.

The new store, the article discusses, also doesn't reside in Stockholm; it calls Solna home, an adjacent county, but far from the heart of Stockholm.

Solna's connection to Stockholm is akin to Connecticut's to New York.

It's a curious predicament indeed, where the two largest Swedish cities, Stockholm, the capital, and Gothenburg, stand without an Apple Store.

 

[mushy peas]

Sydney is also in a bit of dilemma with Apple Store distribution.

Melbourne doesn’t have a CBD store at all, every store in at least an hour by public transport from the CBD. It’s annoying to have to drive out to the suburban malls. I’d love one of your CBD stores here.

 

[eperitus]

I wonder if the Gothenburg area is on the decline.