Multiple Simply Mac Stores Shutting Down Across the U.S.

[MacRumors]

Simply Mac, a well-known Apple Authorized Reseller and Service Provider owned by GameStop, is shutting down a number of its brick and mortar stores across the United States.

Locations in North Carolina, North Dakota, Montana, Texas, Illinois, Indiana, Utah, Idaho, Maryland, South Dakota, and more, are closing this week.

Image via the Billings Gazette​

Notices at some of the locations have suggested Simply Mac is being shut down because Apple is ending its agreement with the retail chain, and several local newspapers are reporting the same news, but on Twitter, Simply Mac says that is not true.

A notice sent out by the West Acres Mall in Fargo, North Dakota:

We wanted to reach out to you with news of another change at West Acres. As of today, Simply Mac has closed. Simply Mac opened at West Acres in August 2014 and we've enjoyed having them as part of the West Acres family.

The closure is due to the Apple Corporation ending its national agreement with Simply Mac to sell them Apple product, making it impossible for them to continue. They will be onsite for a few days to help with customers who have repaired items to pick up.

A GameStop spokesperson who spoke to the Midland-Reporter Telegram in Texas and the Billings Gazette in Montana said the closure of the Simply Mac store in that location was done as part of a business transformation plan that involves closing non-productive store locations.

"As GameStop announced in its holiday sales release, the company continues to focus on the execution of our business transformation plan, which includes growing our non-gaming businesses and right-sizing our global store portfolio across all our retail brands. This involves evaluating and closing non-productive locations. The closure of this Simply Mac store is part of that strategy."

It is not clear why there is mixed information being shared about the store closures, but it appears that only a select number of stores are being shuttered at this time. We've reached out to GameStop for a full list of the locations that are disappearing.

The closure of several Simply Mac stores comes as GameStop faces flagging sales. Earlier this month, GameStop announced that its holiday sales fell 16.4 percent compared to 2015.

Article Link: Multiple Simply Mac Stores Shutting Down Across the U.S.

 

[fontman]

Simply Mac, a well-known Apple Authorized Reseller and Service Provider owned by GameStop, is shutting down a number of its brick and mortar stores across the United States.

Locations in North Carolina, North Dakota, Montana, Texas, Illinois, and more, are closing this week.

Image via the Billings Gazette​

Notices at some of the locations have suggested Simply Mac is being shut down because Apple is ending its agreement with the retail chain, and several local newspapers are reporting the same news, but on Twitter, Simply Mac says that is not true.

A notice sent out by the West Acres Mall in Fargo, North Dakota:A GameStop spokesperson who spoke to the Midland-Reporter Telegram in Texas and the Billings Gazette in Montana said the closure of the Simply Mac store in that location was done as part of a business transformation plan that involves closing non-productive store locations.It is not clear why there is mixed information being shared about the store closures, but it appears that only a select number of stores are being shuttered at this time. We've reached out to GameStop for a full list of the locations that are disappearing.

The closure of several Simply Mac stores comes as GameStop faces flagging sales. Earlier this month, GameStop announced that its holiday sales fell 16.4 percent compared to 2015.

Article Link: Multiple Simply Mac Stores Shutting Down Across the U.S.

Apple is a Mess sad to here . their retail locations really like going to a clothing store these days .

 

[Agent OrangeZ]

Gamestop's days are numbered. Digital distribution will take over within 5 years...

 

[garirry]

Gamestop's days are numbered. Digital distribution will take over within 5 years...

No it won't, especially not when games nowadays weigh 100 something GB, which is ridiculous for digital downloads. Physical media FTW.

 

[Ma2k5]

No it won't, especially not when games nowadays weigh 100 something GB, which is ridiculous for digital downloads. Physical media FTW.

Any increases in game sizes will be met with increased storage capabilities so I don't see it going any other way - just as how music is predominantly digital now.

Remember if storage is expensive for us, it's expensive for those who create physical media too, so it is unlikely to be the case that consumer storage affordability is dwarfed by media size in the future.

 

[Kaibelf]

It doesn't help stores like this when Apple sells products on Amazon. A buddy of mine works at a tech reseller and was sent a link by a client for a MBP asking what he could do, and it was his base pricing, and the seller was Apple. This isn't widespread but if it's a signal of future attempts to reach people who aren't near the Apple Store and only shop on Amazon, there's no future for these Mac-only little shops.

 

[farewelwilliams]

No it won't, especially not when games nowadays weigh 100 something GB, which is ridiculous for digital downloads. Physical media FTW.

the only reason why i buy physical media is the ability to sell it. if i couldn't sell it, i'd opt in for digital downloads instead. it's so much more convenient.

i get that lots of people don't have super high speed connections, but time will take care of that.

 

[goobot]

No it won't, especially not when games nowadays weigh 100 something GB, which is ridiculous for digital downloads. Physical media FTW.

I can't speak for PlayStation but Microsoft has made multiable moves signaling that they won't have a disk drive in the next gen Xbox.

 

[tubeexperience]

This is part of Apple's consolidation of control of its products.

ie. No one else, but Apple is allowed to service Apple products (at least according to Apple).

_________________________________________________________________________

Of cause, one needs to remember that many third parties (non-Apple Store/non-AASP) can perform repairs for about half of what Apple charges.

 

[yadmonkey]

I've never been in a Simply Mac - can anyone comment on the quality of their stores/service?

 

[jimthing]

Physical shops are increasingly finding it difficult everywhere, inc the UK.

I went into a Currys superstore earlier this week, and it was absolutely rubbish. Hardly any stock, only cheaper crappy stuff to sell to the desperately ill informed, or overly "expensive cables" syndrome, and staff who still just don't give a monkeys. Likely because people just buy online, and can't be bothered to check it out face-to-face beforehand mostly anymore.

Only clothes shops, discount shops, and food/drink places (and high end retail, like Apple Stores, luxury goods, et al) can cut it on the high street these days in smaller towns (big cities, not so much). Generic products like physical books/games/music/video can all be sourced cheaper and easier online.

 

[Brandhouse]

'shuttered'?

 

[JediZenMaster]

This is part of Apple's consolidation of control of its products.

ie. No one else, but Apple is allowed to service Apple products (at least according to Apple).

That's terrible though. Apple needs to remember that long before they had stores that places like Simply Mac and others sold their products.

 

[boazjoe]

I've never been in a Simply Mac - can anyone comment on the quality of their stores/service?

My experience with Simply Mac has been favorable. Like a lite version of an apple store. Hosted classes for products. Helpful but not pushy.

 

[ComSense]

I've never been in a Simply Mac - can anyone comment on the quality of their stores/service?

Look them up on Glassdoor.com. It's not often you see a company so thoroughly hated by its own employees.

Allow me to add that they do NOT represent most independent Apple-authorized resellers and service providers.* From what I hear, SimplyMac was fine when it was a small business with couple of locations in the Salt Lake City area. It's when they got bought out by Game Stop and turned into a national chain that things went down the toilet FAST.

(* I may be biased by the fact that I own one.)

 

[alvesik]

I've never been in a Simply Mac - can anyone comment on the quality of their stores/service?

I can only speak for the one in my hometown, but I was very not impressed. I had to go about an iPhone 5 battery replacement program and they were clueless, ran some kinda BS diagnostics and said they couldn't do it and that I should come back in a week to check the diagnostics again.
Yeah no more of that. I went to the Genius Bar, and it was done no questions asked.

 

[tubeexperience]

That's terrible though. Apple needs to remember that long before they had stores that places like Simply Mac and others sold their products.

Apple has become so drunken with its own success that it forgot how it got there.

 

[macduke]

In many areas there are no official Apple Stores, which makes being an Apple user especially inconvenient. I live in fairly large college town and we lost our only Apple certified repair store a couple years ago. Now I have to schedule my visits around times when I travel home to see my family two hours away. I see so many MacBooks and iPhones and Beats on campus that this town would have no problem supporting a legit Apple Store—even just a small one in the mall. I hope Apple continues to expand to new regions, but it feels like store growth in the U.S. has slowed in recent years.

 

[jimthing]

That's terrible though. Apple needs to remember that long before they had stores that places like Simply Mac and others sold their products.

Sure, but times change, and you can't roll the clock back. Apple are doing what any logical company in their position would do, and expanding their Apple Store experience as widely as possible.

If these stores were profitable then perhaps they'd stay in business. But it's entirely unclear, from what the article states, whether they were forced to shut because of Apple or the lack of business at these particular locations, or likely both.

 

[tubeexperience]

In many areas there are no official Apple Stores, which makes being an Apple user especially inconvenient. I live in fairly large college town and we lost our only Apple certified repair store a couple years ago. Now I have to schedule my visits around times when I travel home to see my family two hours away. I see so many MacBooks and iPhones and Beats on campus that this town would have no problem supporting a legit Apple Store—even just a small one in the mall. I hope Apple continues to expand to new regions, but it feels like store growth in the U.S. has slowed in recent years.

You should look for third party repair shops.

For example, I have been repairing Macs for years while sometimes charging half of what Apple charges.

 

[pat500000]

Ending the agreement, huh? Apple should pump more of those macs like mac pros.

 

[Naraxus]

This sucks. There's one store right next to me and it's great to go to. It's not nearly as crowded as the Apple Store is and the service I find to be a whole lot better.

 

[SuperCachetes]

I'd never even heard of this chain. I can't recall seeing any marketing whatsoever, and they purport to have stores in my state.

After a quick look at their specific locations, it looks they were trying to position themselves to be a closer alternative to the local Apple stores for people in the hinterlands. Seems like a legit strategy, but these suburban/remote locations also have a bunch of other non-Apple places to get Apple stuff (Best Buy, etc). Distinguishing themselves might have been a hard sell.

 

[mi7chy]

Reminds me exactly of what happened during the Apple II days when Apple stopped supporting the hardware then developers abandoned the platform and all the stores went away.

 

[Tech198]

I would bet for the same reason some Nextbyte stores have closed in Australia.. Apple wants to get people into the city or non-APP Apple stores instead.. to gain more attraction..

When I asked about my Nextbyte store closer APP in Peth WA, Stirling, Nedlands, that's what they told me. Apple store in Garden city Perth WA doe instance, (probably because its a shopping center, so more likely people will stop in buy Apple products) instead of some lonely APP store on its own. (sniff)