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Apple Planning to Open Third Retail Store in Turkey in 2016

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Apple is preparing to open a third retail store in Turkey, reports MacReports, citing a source familiar with the company's plans. Set to open in Istanbul, the store will launch later in 2016.

Apple is said to be in the process of hiring for retail positions at the store and has posted advertisements on job sites in Turkey. The store will reportedly be located at the Emaar Square Mall in Istanbul. Still under constriction, the Emaar Square Mall will feature 491 stores and restaurants, a hotel, and apartment space for residents.

emaarmall.jpg
Emaar Square rendering, via MacReports​

When it launches, the Emaar Square Apple Store will be the third Apple retail location in Istanbul, joining retail stores at Zorlu Mall and Akasya Mall, both of which opened in 2014. Turkey's Zorlu store opened with quite a fanfare as it featured a unique design with an all glass exterior.

Article Link: Apple Planning to Open Third Retail Store in Turkey in 2016
 
Article Link
https://www.macrumors.com/2016/01/28/apple-third-turkey-store-coming-2016/
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No offence to Turkey or the people living there, but is there really that much demand for Apple products there that there needs to be a third Apple store? Wouldn't it be better to focus on new countries first?
 
garirry said:
No offence to Turkey or the people living there, but is there really that much demand for Apple products there that there needs to be a third Apple store? Wouldn't it be better to focus on new countries first?
Click to expand...

I am from istanbul and I can vouch for that that the demand here is very very high.

But the main reason is population, there are 17m people living in Istanbul and 2 stores are always overcrowded. And Genius appointments cannot be done since there are no free slots all year :/
 
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garirry said:
No offence to Turkey or the people living there, but is there really that much demand for Apple products there that there needs to be a third Apple store? Wouldn't it be better to focus on new countries first?
Click to expand...
Opening another store in a country is cheaper than opening the first one in a new country due to all of the regulations, language barriers, recruiting difficulties etc. Even different cities in the same state creates difficulties. IKEA did not open any stores in the Bay Area for years, even though it had multiple stores around Southern California.

Still, I agree, it is strange that Apple still does not have any stores in Vienna, Dublin or Singapore. Sales experience and after sale service is a big part of the value proposition of Apple, so it is amazing that Apple is able to sell as briskly as it does in places where it does not have any stores (or too few to make them practical options).

In any case, Istanbul is a very big town, with more people living there than the population of many European countries (Belgium, Greece, Norway, Switzerland etc.) It is also a popular tourist destination. Even though typical income level is not that high, enough people can afford Apple products that people stay up till midnight to see if they can get a Genius appointment, because all slots are taken a few minutes later.
 
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Still, I agree, it is strange that Apple still does not have any stores in Vienna, Dublin or Singapore.
Click to expand...

Apple is in for the long run. They look for iconic buildings, especially in places like Vienna, and those are not always immediately available.
 
garirry said:
No offence to Turkey or the people living there, but is there really that much demand for Apple products there that there needs to be a third Apple store? Wouldn't it be better to focus on new countries first?
Click to expand...


As someone else said, an added store in a dense territory will have better payback than a new store in a sparse territory. But additionally, opening up a new territory is a much costlier effort than opening a new store in an existing territory. Opening an additional store can be handled mostly locally. Opening a new territory requires significant enhancements to logistics and distribution, as well as dealing with all the legal import and accounting issues. In contrast, adding an additional store in an existing territory can actually make some aspects of logistics more cost-effective.
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theBB said:
Opening another store in a country is cheaper than opening the first one in a new country due to all of the regulations, language barriers, recruiting difficulties etc. Even different cities in the same state creates difficulties. IKEA did not open any stores in the Bay Area for years, even though it had multiple stores around Southern California.
Click to expand...

You are correct, although you miss one of the biggest issues, which is inventory management. It's much easier to manage inventory in a "bigger" (in the sense of demand) territory. Apple neither wants to be out of stock on any items in their store, nor do they want to carry too much idle stock. There is a lot of variation of demand between stores, but that starts to level out statistically over a larger number of stores. They can address that through central warehousing, possibly enhanced through occasional leveling between stores in a given territory.
 
Anaxarxes said:
I am from istanbul and I can vouch for that that the demand here is very very high.

But the main reason is population, there are 17m people living in Istanbul and 2 stores are always overcrowded. And Genius appointments cannot be done since there are no free slots all year :/
Click to expand...

you explained the whole story very well kardeş :)

İstanbul'un adı geçmeye görsün bu ecnebi çocukları hemen ne gereği vardı muhabbetine giriyor..
 
Gasu E. said:
You are correct, although you miss one of the biggest issues, which is inventory management. It's much easier to manage inventory in a "bigger" (in the sense of demand) territory. Apple neither wants to be out of stock on any items in their store, nor do they want to carry too much idle stock. There is a lot of variation of demand between stores, but that starts to level out statistically over a larger number of stores. They can address that through central warehousing, possibly enhanced through occasional leveling between stores in a given territory.
Click to expand...
Good road & air transport networks, overnight shipping services and no customs barriers between EU countries should enable any big company selling high end consumer goods to serve multiple EU countries with one central warehouse pretty easily. I doubt inventory management is the main reason why Vienna, Lisbon, Copenhagen or Dublin doesn't have a store.
 
ardaburak said:
Well first there is a massive shifting from once so popular and distinctively outnumbered premium retail stores and repair services to Apple Stores here in Istanbul for some reason since the opening.

And it is visible. You can see people piling up any day in both stores making huge lines standing, and even online services, it is sometimes impossible to get a reservation here.

If you don't have any reservation, you will be ignored on a busy day and find yourself vigorously trying to latch on one single person with Apple shirt to ask one simple question. Oh yes, it is wild here.

So yes, a third store here in Istanbul will certainly not be an overkill.
Click to expand...

ağlatmışsın ingilizceyi kardeş..ağzına sağlık ;)
 
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I wonder if Apple will open a Retail Store near the lovely "old city" of Istanbul. Many tourists there, and Apple likes to have their stores at locations where many tourists walk by (in).
 
theBB said:
Still, I agree, it is strange that Apple still does not have any stores in Vienna, Dublin or Singapore.
Click to expand...

A lot of money flows through Istanbul, much of it from shady deals and sketchy characters. Apple is just dipping their cup in the well...and ignoring the sources of the funds. It's a good thing that Tim Cook and the gang can shut their eyes and pretend, otherwise someone might call them out as hypocrites.
 
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