Apple Store in Michigan Permanently Closing Next Month

[GrumpyOldGuy52]

The fact of the matter is Apple knows exactly where their customers live—they have our addresses. They know if a store location is more central, regardless of your desire to have one stay in your part of the sprawl around here. If the Partridge Creek store made more business sense, it would have stayed there. It doesn’t, thus it’s not.

As for “just outside of Detroit,” I lived just off of Hall Road for a year—I know that area. It’s a 45 minute drive to get downtown (I worked downtown at the time), getting around Hall Road is obnoxious (was just on it last Monday), and 15 miles isn’t “just outside” of anything. However, I’m just not surprised to see this sort of thinking when the average commute to work around here takes 50(!) minutes.

 

[Marzzz]

I have always wondered where “South Detroit” (like in the song) was; isn’t that Toledo?

 

[GrumpyOldGuy52]

I have always wondered where “South Detroit” (like in the song) was; isn’t that Toledo?

I always assumed they meant Downriver, but if we want to be really technical, it's Windsor, Ontario (that area of Ontario is the only place where Canada is south of the US).

 

[Soulman]

How will they get there... the Q Line /s

Bike. There are thousands of apartments, townhouses and Condos within a three mile radius.

 

[DailySlow]

Apple wants to pay a city tax (nice pay cut for the employees too) while making its customers drive downtown and pay to park in an area with higher crime rates.

Not following the logic.

Did someone say "public transit"?

 

[B4U]

I always assumed they meant Downriver, but if we want to be really technical, it's Windsor, Ontario (that area of Ontario is the only place where Canada is south of the US).

That was one of the proposed name before they adopted the current name, Windsor.

 

[trusso]

I wonder, at Apple and other companies, if the people who recommend these sorts of closures actually understand the value of such stores and the stupidity of closing them to save a few bucks on a spreadsheet, but go along with the game because they’re scared of losing their job and they’ve been trained, innocuously, to make the call they’re “expected” to make.

Think of all the good in the world that wouldn’t have been done if the profit motive were the sole guiding factor. Think of all the good in the world that hasn’t been done lately because of this.

Okay, I know. It’s just an Apple Store. I don’t even live in Michigan, so it’s no skin off my nose. But in a tiny way, it just seems like part of the zeitgeist, and as illustrated by many of the posters who live closer and who this might affect, the decision is anything but universally agreed upon as good.

 

[TravelsInBlue]

I absolutely hate the Apple Store shopping experience, and the recent flurry of closures makes me wonder if I’m not alone in that.

 

[kjvmartin]

Did someone say "public transit"?

Yes, I'll hop on the world famous Detroit Public Transit system for my next AppleCare appointment.

 

[1037]

What's the basis for this decision?

Cost of replacing storefront windows.

 

[hagjohn]

What is the local press saying about the closure?

 

[gregmac19]

The fact of the matter is Apple knows exactly where their customers live—they have our addresses. ...

No they don’t. If you have something shipped to you from Apple, then they have your address, but otherwise why would they? And many Apple store shoppers are likely just browsers that intend to make most of their Apple purchases elsewhere.

A store off Hall road makes a lot more business sense than one in Detroit. I think the Detroit store is a political move by Apple.

 

[GrumpyOldGuy52]

No they don’t. If you have something shipped to you from Apple, then they have your address, but otherwise why would they? And many Apple store shoppers are likely just browsers that intend to make most of their Apple purchases elsewhere.

A store off Hall road makes a lot more business sense than one in Detroit. I think the Detroit store is a political move by Apple.

Let's assume you have never had them ship anything to you. You don't have a credit card on file with them? You know, the confirmation that asks for the ZIP+4? What about that your Mac and iPhone have a "Home" location in Find My? They might not be able to precisely say what your address is, but to think that they don't have aggregated data showing them within a mile or two where their buyers live is naive. They know who goes to the PC store, who goes to Somerset, and who goes to 12 Oaks. Even assuming Dan Gilbert or Mike Duggan offered them something to put the store in Detroit, if the PC store made sense, then they would keep it.

Don't go to the Detroit store if you don't want to (after all, at 17 miles away, the Somerset store is "just outside" of Clinton Township).

 

[picpicmac]

the recent flurry of closures makes me wonder if I’m not alone in that.

Now do Kroger... and many retail chains.

Retail, even for computers, is still languishing in the world of brick-stores.

 

[gregmac19]

Downtown Detroit is perfectly safe.

“As of early 2025, Detroit's murder rate is approximately 4th highest in the U.S.”

 

[gregmac19]

Let's assume you have never had them ship anything to you. You don't have a credit card on file with them

Nope.

What about that your Mac and iPhone have a "Home" location in Find My?

Nope.

They might not be able to precisely say what your address is, but to think that they don't have aggregated data showing them within a mile or two where their buyers live is naive. They know who goes to the PC store, who goes to Somerset, and who goes to 12 Oaks. Even assuming Dan Gilbert or Mike Duggan offered them something to put the store in Detroit, if the PC store made sense, then they would keep it.

You are assuming the closing of the Partridge Creek store and the Detroit store are related, for which there is no evidence.

 

[wikiverse]

That’s very strange to close down an Apple Store just before a product refresh. Wouldn’t it make more sense to close it down after the refresh lands and you move some product first, after things die down again?

Despite the few users here saying that the store was 'always busy', most of that foot traffic is just people window shopping, not actually making purchases, which is why Apple stores are mostly redundant.

Almost every major Phone store stocks the latest iphone models and accessories.
Almost every major tech retailer and department store (including Costco, at least in Australia) sells Macbooks.

You can go into those existing stores and manhandle the product to see how it feels, then order your desired specs online with free shipping - usually within a couple of days. You can usually find better cashback deals for online purchases as well.

 

[Sully]

I can’t help but think that Apple’s real estate deal was heavily subsidized by billionaire Dan Gilbert’s Bedrock real estate group.

For a free deal, maybe the PR Apple gains from putting a store in an economically depressed city makes it worthwhile.

The store won’t be profitable and I predict it will quietly close in 5 years if Apple doesn’t get the PR bang for its buck.

Nike’s downtown Detroit store is a Community Store-a small-format retail location designed to serve underserved urban areas, offering discounted products, local hiring, and youth sports programs. These stores prioritize community engagement over pure profit.

As for other national stores that added new locations in downtown Detroit the following opened with big fanfare and then later quietly closed:

✔ Under Armour (2018–2021)
✔ Moosejaw (2017–2023)
✔ H&M (2017–2022)
✔ John Varvatos (2018–2020)
✔ CVS (2016–2023)
✔ Whey-Too (Kroger) (2019–2021)

And, Target pulled out of a pending deal a year ago. Finally, there’s been persistent talk about how Whole Foods (another deal that was done with financial inducements)is losing money.

Why is this? Well, there’s a very small customer base for high end merchandise downtown.

Downtown Detroit has only ~5,000 full-time residents, most of whom are not high-income tech buyers.

Travel three blocks off Woodward and you are in an entirely different and impoverished environment. It’s literally night and day. There’s no transition.

Metro Detroit’s Apple customers overwhelmingly live in affluent suburbs. The median income downtown ($37K) is less than half Apple’s core demographic ($100K+).

Apple shut down 7 stores in 2023, all in underperforming urban markets.
Their only successful city stores are in global hubs (NYC, London, Tokyo)—not Rust Belt turnaround projects.

I don’t know whether closing Partridge Creek was a good move or not. But, I’m sure that a Macomb County store (where Partridge Creeek is located) would outperform this charity store that Apple is putting in Downtown Detroit.

 

[GrumpyOldGuy52]

The amount of FUD and cherry-picking in this thread is hilarious—so many people are scared of Detroit for so many silly reasons. Just don't visit the store if you don't want to.

First, if we want to talk about crime, let's talk about it without picking single lines from media sources we feel unchallenged by. The Detroit Metro Times just wrote about Detroit's crime stats last month. It's a good, pretty unbiased read. I suggest checking it out for real facts.

Let's then look at the absolute AI slop that was copypasta'd above:

✔ Under Armour (2018–2021)
✔ Moosejaw (2017–2023)
✔ H&M (2017–2022)
✔ John Varvatos (2018–2020)
✔ CVS (2016–2023)
✔ Whey-Too (Kroger) (2019–2021)

• Under Armour has been bleeding cash for almost a decade, especially during the past two years. The store was closed due to the company restructuring, not just because of profit (or lack thereof).
• Moosejaw closed because Walmart mortally wounded the company. Dick's bought what was left and finished the job—no company, no store.
• Not sure what AI bot provided these details, but H&M is still open downtown.
• John Varvatos filed Chapter 11 just prior to the pandemic, which, in turn, did its own damage to the company. The store, like Under Armour and Moosejaw, closed because the company was failing.
• CVS is still open (your AI bot sucks).
• That "Whey-Too" thing has me, and my searches, scratching our heads. I can't even find a reference to a thing called "Whey-Too" (other than a protein powder brand). Again, AI slop isn't going to serve you in a discussion among adults.

Oh, and for everyone who keeps saying Starbucks closed... where was that, precisely? Find an address. Because there are two very open Starbucks within very short walking distances of the new store (plus at least three independent coffee shops).

So, Apple's not in the financial situation Under Armour, Moosejaw, or Varvatos were in. By comparing Apple to them, you're comparing apples to durian. Now, will the store survive? Who knows? Gilbert and/or Duggan may have offered something, sure, but Apple has a business reason to open the store, regardless of whether you like that or not. That store puts Apple in one of the major tech hubs in the metro area and also is prime real estate along the route of a Thanksgiving Day parade that broadcasts in 185 markets across the country (free advertising leading into the Christmas shopping season... hmmmm). There are innumerable reasons to do it over the pearl-clutching and "but, but... Detroit!" prejudices in this thread.

So, regardless of what the Monday morning quarterbacks around here think, Apple is going to do what they think best for the company (and it's worked out pretty well so far). They are not comparable to the stores that opened and closed along that strip, and the crime rate is not like what the haters love to roll out when they whine about the city compared to their exurban dystopias.

The lessons to be learned from all this are don't use AI slop in this sort of discussion, stop the silly pearl-clutching, and leave the cherry-picking to actual cherries (which are in season... go get some and touch some grass).

 

[kcwookie]

Apple put their stores in high end, high traffic malls and those locations are suffering as we convert to online shopping. Here in Kansas City the Country Club Plaza is suffering. It was the first shopping district in the nation to be designed around people coming by car. It is iconic, but over the last decade the luster have gone. The Apple Store and B&N are the biggest anchors and that is precarious.

We have two stores in the metro. One is in Kansas and the other is in my state. I don't like going to the Kansas store because I want my tax money going to my city and state.

I don't see this changing, Apple is going to close a lot of stores and relocate some. We will probably lose the CCP store in the years to come if the Plaza can't figure out how to attract businesses that bring shoppers. Right now the Apple is one of the few remaining. We should not be surprised by store closings. We should celebrate the new opening and remember that if we want a clubhouse, we need to visit frequently and spend money.

 

[phenom1984]

Starbucks had to close their downtown Detroit location just a few blocks from where Apple is planning to put up a store. You may be right.

There's three Starbucks within a few blocks of this proposed Apple Store location, each of them closer than the one that closed. Woodward and Grand River is not the same as Woodward and Mack.

 

[chelsel]

Bike. There are thousands of apartments, townhouses and Condos within a three mile radius.

I am skeptical that people will ride their bikes through the nightmare of city traffic to go buy a new MacBook or have it serviced... but who knows. What is more likely that is that the city offered a substantial tax incentive to promote a downtown.

 

[Sully]

The amount of FUD and cherry-picking in this thread is hilarious—so many people are scared of Detroit for so many silly reasons. Just don't visit the store if you don't want to.

First, if we want to talk about crime, let's talk about it without picking single lines from media sources we feel unchallenged by. The Detroit Metro Times just wrote about Detroit's crime stats last month. It's a good, pretty unbiased read. I suggest checking it out for real facts.

Let's then look at the absolute AI slop that was copypasta'd above:

• Under Armour has been bleeding cash for almost a decade, especially during the past two years. The store was closed due to the company restructuring, not just because of profit (or lack thereof).
• Moosejaw closed because Walmart mortally wounded the company. Dick's bought what was left and finished the job—no company, no store.
• Not sure what AI bot provided these details, but H&M is still open downtown.
• John Varvatos filed Chapter 11 just prior to the pandemic, which, in turn, did its own damage to the company. The store, like Under Armour and Moosejaw, closed because the company was failing.
• CVS is still open (your AI bot sucks).
• That "Whey-Too" thing has me, and my searches, scratching our heads. I can't even find a reference to a thing called "Whey-Too" (other than a protein powder brand). Again, AI slop isn't going to serve you in a discussion among adults.

Oh, and for everyone who keeps saying Starbucks closed... where was that, precisely? Find an address. Because there are two very open Starbucks within very short walking distances of the new store (plus at least three independent coffee shops).

So, Apple's not in the financial situation Under Armour, Moosejaw, or Varvatos were in. By comparing Apple to them, you're comparing apples to durian. Now, will the store survive? Who knows? Gilbert and/or Duggan may have offered something, sure, but Apple has a business reason to open the store, regardless of whether you like that or not. That store puts Apple in one of the major tech hubs in the metro area and also is prime real estate along the route of a Thanksgiving Day parade that broadcasts in 185 markets across the country (free advertising leading into the Christmas shopping season... hmmmm). There are innumerable reasons to do it over the pearl-clutching and "but, but... Detroit!" prejudices in this thread.

So, regardless of what the Monday morning quarterbacks around here think, Apple is going to do what they think best for the company (and it's worked out pretty well so far). They are not comparable to the stores that opened and closed along that strip, and the crime rate is not like what the haters love to roll out when they whine about the city compared to their exurban dystopias.

The lessons to be learned from all this are don't use AI slop in this sort of discussion, stop the silly pearl-clutching, and leave the cherry-picking to actual cherries (which are in season... go get some and touch some grass).

You’re right. The AI research is lacking. It had a bunch of other store closings as well that really weren’t closed. I havent been back to Michigan since my last Detroit deal tanked so I relied on AI research to my detriment.

I still think Bedrock and the State are buying these deals. There’s really no scenario that a retail proforma works without subsidies. And, Target did pull out. We’ve all heard the Whole Foods rumors. Plus, my own experience of having a national deal tank because the C-Suite people didn’t like the numbers supports the perceived lack of business.

How do you factor in the demographic of low income that exists roughly 3/4 of a mile on either side of Woodward? These neighborhoods make up a majority of the city and they are not luxury customers. And, the fact that a lot, not all by any means, of the people in those new high rises have their cars titled in the suburbs at their childhood homes because it’s too expensive to insure in Detroit.

Nothing about the Metro Times is unbiased, although, I’ve never had an issue and I’ve worked and played all over Detroit ( not just Downtown). There are good people in most of the neighborhoods trying to make things better.

But, to say crime is not an issue and to imply that national retailers are locating downtown because they have profitable stores is disingenuous at best.

And, sorry about the AI stats. I tried to shortcut my research for a quick forum post and it failed. But, the point remains the same. If 10 is a thriving city, Detroit is at 5 right now. It was at 0, so kudos to all those boosters. But, until the neighborhoods are fixed and schools are stable and yes, the crime is significantly under control, things won’t change.

 

[gregmac19]

The amount of FUD and cherry-picking in this thread is hilarious...

It is not FUD, or cherry-picking, to note the crime rate in Detroit is high; that is a fact. Although I am glad it is coming down, it is still much higher than the surrounding area, which will be a factor in where people choose to shop.

And crime was only one of the reasons people were doubting the viability of a downtown location, with traffic, and parking also mentioned. Thus, it is you doing the cherry-picking.

 

[GrumpyOldGuy52]

How do you factor in the demographic of low income that exists roughly 3/4 of a mile on either side of Woodward?

You aren't talking about the area the store will be in when you mention that—you're talking north of I-75 (Brush Park, the southern end of Cass Corridor, etc.). The store will be in the heart of downtown itself (I'm not entirely sure if it's in the new building or across the street, though). As for Brush Park and Cass Corridor... I suspect things have changed since you were last here. Little Caesars and WSU's business school have brought a lot of traffic to the Corridor side, and apartments and condos are now on the Brush Park side. The low-income demographic has changed (through gentrification, of course, but it has changed), though I'm sure some of it is still there.

Whole Foods made poor assumptions about that location (I questioned the choice then and wouldn't be heartbroken if it left). The Target deal fell through due to red tape (I should note that the area is technically Midtown, but it's close to downtown), but it was making similar assumptions to Whole Foods and likely wouldn't have lasted (their store in Harper Woods didn't last, though the mall it was attached to was a ghost town by time Target left). As a contrast, Mejier made the right choice placing their store along Jefferson—it's a terrific resource and a clear sign that the right choices can happen.

Nothing about the Metro Times is unbiased...

I never said the Metro Times is unbiased; I said the article is. Biased they may be, but they are not apologists. The article is pretty strong and very recent—not the fearmongering larger outlets like to go on about. I suggest reading it.

The fact of the matter is Detroit's current footprint was established in the 1940s and 1950s for three million people to reside in the city—then the freeways were built (one of which intentionally plowed right through the primary African American neighborhoods in Black Bottom and their businesses along Hastings and in Paradise Valley). As a result of all of that and other decisions, now there are less than 650,000 people in the city. The challenges the city faces are directly attributable to choices made in the mid-20th century. It's done a lot to bounce back, but it still has a lot to go, no doubt.

However, that isn't why Apple might have put the store there.

Again, I don't know if this new store will survive—it's work to get where it is if you aren't doing anything else downtown. That said, it's smack-dab in the middle of Tigers, Lions, Red Wings, and Pistons (and, soon, our new WNBA team) traffic. The IT professionals downtown will be able to walk to it within a few minutes. It will be seen during the parade. If we assume that most purchases don't happen at the stores, that they're primarily there for window-shopping (especially along areas like Woodward), then this store will be very well placed for that. We'll see what happens.