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Interesting stuff, Photorun. You do know that Apple must have reached some compromise with the Carousel Center, because they are now listing job openings for a store there?
 
Sayhey said:
Big news for you mac fans out in the Plains region. First Kansas City and now Apple has posted a new store in West Des Moines, Iowa! Perhaps the Plains region is not lost on Apple's retail planning team. There is also news of a new Southern California store in Century City, but that is getting to be old hat isn't it? Congrats to both regions.



ifoAppleStore

Both stores are also listed on Apple's "drop down" menu at its jobs website.

What??!! Iowa has a store listed before Providence (RI) does?? How much business would a store get in the middle of a cornfield??!!
 
latergator116 said:
What??!! Iowa has a store listed before Providence (RI) does?? How much business would a store get in the middle of a cornfield??!!

Apple's VP for retail has stated the goal of putting in a store in Providence, but a suitable location isn't open yet. Read Photorun's post on all the hassle Apple went through to get the Syracuse store for this fall.

The interesting thing about the Iowa store is that it is, by far and away, the smallest market that Apple has expressed an interest in. There are approximately 450,000 people in the Des Moines area; which makes it almost 300,000 smaller in population than the projected Syracuse location. It maybe that this is one of the "mini-stores," but what it does is open the possibility of stores for much smaller sites throughout the nation.

Oh, and by the way, 'gator, I hear they have indoor plumbing now in Iowa. They're positively modern, you know! ;)
 
Ah, Iowa, my birth state, and Syracuse, where I was imprisoned, er, worked for a decade, both mentioned in the same thread. What are the odds?

Now, sitting here outside Boston with several Apple stores within 20 miles, I think I moved to a better location. :)
 
Metro Areas sans Apple

I thought it might be a good time to update the list of metro areas without an Apple store or one planned. Here it is:

1 - San Antonio, Texas
2 - Norfolk/Virginia Beach, Virginia
3 - New Orleans, Louisiana
4 - Salt Lake City, Utah
5 - Greensboro/Winston-Salem, North Carolina
6 - Nashville, Tennessee
7 - Providence, Rhode Island*
8 - Rochester, New York
9 - Grand Rapids, Michigan
10 - Oklahoma City, Oklahoma
11 - Louisville, Kentucky
12 - Greenville, South Carolina
13 - Dayton, Ohio
14 - Fresno, California
15 - Birmingham, Alabama
16 - Tulsa, Oklahoma
17 - Omaha, Nebraska
18 - Albuquerque, New Mexico
19 - Knoxville, Tennessee
20 - El Paso, Texas

If each of these areas had an Apple store it would mean the top 63 metro areas (or Consolidated Metro Areas) in the country (not counting Puerto Rico) had at least one Apple retail outlet. It would also mean that 174,000,000 people had access to a store in their area. Lastly, it would mean that 38 of the 50 States had at least one store within its borders.

*Providence is not yet "officially planned," but Apple has announced its desire to place a store in the area.
 
latergator116 said:
Hmm... if you say so. ;)

Still, I don't understand. I just don't see market share there. :confused:

There are a lot of factors that go into this that you and I can't evaluate without figures most of which only Apple has at its disposal. How many Apple users are there in Des Moines? How many computer users? Is the mall part of a package deal with the mall owner? etc. etc.

Because Des Moines is so much smaller than others doesn't mean the store can't be profitable. It certainly doesn't mean that the store can't help grow Apple's market share in the area. I know it is frustrating for those in larger areas when Apple goes to much smaller regions but it is a good sign. And don't worry, Providence is definitely in Apple's future.
 
Apple stores are nice....
Most metro cities already have Apple resellers
And A good number of them have CompUSAs that also stock Apples.

I believe You can find most current Apple products within a reasonable driving distance for most people
 
Still no job listings for the Des Moines or Century City stores on Apple's site, but we now have listings for both stores on monster.com covering the usual openings. Looks like a November or December opening.
 
Sunrunner said:
Somehow I don't think I will be getting an Apple store here in the Kansas City/Omaha region anytime soon...:rolleyes:

Au contraire... there's one going in just north of Helzberg Diamonds and Ann Taylor at the Country Club Plaza in KC... Have no idea when it's going to open, but it has to be soon...
 
Apple is now listing job openings for the Century City and West Des Moines stores. Winter openings are looking better and better. If all the stores that are now listed for jobs open before the end of the year we will hit 99 stores.

rogozhin, judging by the timing of when the listings for the KC and Pittsburgh stores went up and the statements of Apple execs, it is a good bet for both to open in August. However, if you're near the store site why not drop by and see how the construction is going? Let us know if you find anything out.
 
Fall opening for London Store

Apple's own site now confirms a Fall opening for the Regent Street store in London.

Apple is now hiring for Europe’s first Apple Retail Store, set to open in London in Autumn 2004.

Apple UK

I'm betting on October.
 
I disagree. It's all about exposure

macsrus said:
Apple stores are nice....
Most metro cities already have Apple resellers
And A good number of them have CompUSAs that also stock Apples.

I believe You can find most current Apple products within a reasonable driving distance for most people


Most Comp USA's are fine for buying apples if you know what you want and are familiar with the products. The Comp USA's stores that I have been in usually stick the apples in the back of the store in a corner. You first must walk past all of the other PC's before getting to the Apple stuff.

The Apple stores however put plenty of stuff out front for everyone to play with and the genius bar in the back or off to the side. In NYC the store is right in the heart of the trendy section of SOHO on any given day people who are shopping for Louis Vuitton and Chanel are walking into the apple store and are being impressed with the superior technology and form factor. Many of these shoppers are top level decision makers or their partners. In real estate Location Location Location is everything. Whatever apple is spending on the stores, they are partly to make money, and partly to move product. I suspect a great deal more of the store placement is as an ongoing advertisement/art gallery for the better way of doing things.
 
good citizen said:
I don't know if anyone else has been paying attention this long, but a Monster job posting for Birmingham was one of the original tip-offs that the retail stores were right around the corner. I even applied for the job, got an e-mail back and sent my resume, but obviously the store never materialized.

That said, opening a store in Spanish Fort makes much, much more sense. There's a larger population in the Mobile-Pensacola-Biloxi metro region than Birmingham, not to mention that the tourism industry there is much bigger than Birmingham's. B'ham is also only a short drive from two stores in Atlanta. When you take into account Apple's speculated new home, Eastern Shore Centre; the new development including a 500,000 Bass Pro Shop, Market at Spanish Fort, and the already-opened Jubliee Place, Spanish Fort is quickly becoming THE shopping destination of the mid-gulf coast region. I could see a store coming to Birmingham someday, but the shoppers just aren't there.

I think that an Apple store would do very well in Birmingham. As for a "short drive" from Atlanta, I suppose that 2 hours is better than 7, but it's still not close.
 
Sayhey said:
Apple's VP for retail has stated the goal of putting in a store in Providence, but a suitable location isn't open yet. Read Photorun's post on all the hassle Apple went through to get the Syracuse store for this fall.

The interesting thing about the Iowa store is that it is, by far and away, the smallest market that Apple has expressed an interest in. There are approximately 450,000 people in the Des Moines area; which makes it almost 300,000 smaller in population than the projected Syracuse location. It maybe that this is one of the "mini-stores," but what it does is open the possibility of stores for much smaller sites throughout the nation.

Oh, and by the way, 'gator, I hear they have indoor plumbing now in Iowa. They're positively modern, you know! ;)

I think likely part of the reason Apple decided to put a store in the Jordan Creek Town Center is that it's a brand new mall that's bringing in many, MANY stores never before seen in Iowa, the fact that when open it will be the largest mall in Iowa, the fact that it's easy access from both I-80 and I-35, the fact that only 2 stores in all the Des Moines metro are Apple resellers (CompUSA and American), and it probably helps that major companies (such as the Meredith Corporation) in downtown Des Moines use Macs rather than PCs

Edit: and yes, most of us Iowans have indoor plumbing ;)
 
http://www.macnews.com/2004/06/22/applestore

Apple to open first Iowa retail store
June 22, 2004 - 19:46 EDT** Apple is planning to open a new retail store in West Des Moines, Iowa, at the upscale Jordan Creek Town Center. The two million square foot shopping complex, which is expected to open on August 4, 2004, will "bring a new level of shopping and entertainment to Central Iowa." It will have three main areas: "The 'Shopping District' is a two level enclosed shopping center featuring a dynamic combination of upscale fashion and lifestyle retailers in a streetscape design. The 'Lake District' highlights a 3.5 acre lake surrounded by bike trails, pedestrian walkways, and a boardwalk offering waterfront dining, a hotel and amphitheater. The 'Village' hosts a collection of large and specialty retailers in an open-air lifestyle design."
 
Silent Panda, so we at MacRumors only beat them to the story by four days given the date of the story at macnews.com? At that rate can you still call it news? :eek:
 
San Antonio location??

In San Antonio... still waiting for our store thats not 70 miles away. I went to the opening for the store in Austin, totally awesome. Just cant wait for ours. A coworker of mine believes that SA isn't very important compared to any of the other cities on the list waiting for a store. Although there is going to be an open air mall opening here in September 2005, The Shops at La Cantera (http://www.therousecompany.com/retail/shops_la_cantera.htm) . Its going to have a Nordstrom, Neiman Marcus, Foley's, Dillards. Seems like the neighbors that an Apple Store usually has. I guess we'll have to see. Gotta wait a year or two :)
 
In a quest to move the discussion of Apple Stores to this thread, rather than one that's over a year old, I going to update the list of upcoming stores. ;)

This list of upcoming stores can verified at Apple's Jobs site (click on "Apple Store Job Opportunities" in the lower right of the page.) Here is the latest in roughly the order of how they appeared on Apple's site.

1 - Danbury Fair Mall, Danbury, Connecticut

2 - Shadyside, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

3 - Country Club Plaza, Kansas City, Missouri

4 - Rosedale Center, Rosedale, Minnesota

5 - Stonestown Mall, San Francisco, California

6 - Santa Rosa Plaza, Santa Rosa, California

7 - Osaka, Japan (second store in Japan, reported to open Aug. 29th)

8 - Bridgewater Commons Mall, Bridgewater, New Jersey

9 - Rockaway Townsquare Mall, Rockaway, New Jersey

10 - Stoneridge Mall, Pleasanton, California

11 - Victoria Gardens, Rancho Cucamonga, California

12 - Alderwood Mall, Lynnwood, Washington

13 - Christiana Mall, Wilmington, Delaware (first store in that state)

14 - Regent Street, London, England (Apple’s first European store)

15 - Oakridge Mall, San Jose, California (signs outside a retail space within the mall have an Apple store opening in “Winter 2004” (from ifoAppleStore.)

16 - Carousel Center, Syracuse, New York

17 - Southcenter Mall, Tukwila, Washington

18 - Jordan Creek Town Center, West Des Moines, Iowa

19 - Century City, Los Angeles, California

According to Apple's announce goal of 88 stores by the end of the fiscal year, at least eight of the stores listed above will be open by Sept. 30th. In addition, the following stores have been reported to be opening from other sources.

1 - Eastern Shore Center, Spanish Fort, Alabama (local newspapers have had Apple as one of the new tenants of the Center with a projected Fall 2004 opening.)

2 - St. John’s Town Center, Jacksonville, Florida (the Jacksonville Business Journal has a story predicting a March 2005 opening date)

3 - Midtown Manhattan, New York City, New York (from a story in the New York Post - no job listings or projected opening date)

4 - South Shore Plaza, Braintree, Massachusetts (listed on the "drop down" menu on Apple's website, but no job listings yet.) see post #274

Other rumors have had possible openings in Paris, Upper West Side NYC (84th & Broadway), Toronto, Irvine (CA), a second Portland (OR) store (Pioneer Center), and the projected start of “mini-stores” focused in universities.

This confirms 99 stores open by the end of the year. So far, only the London and Osaka stores are flagship stores that will open by the same date.
 
As much as I want to believe the Eastern Shore Centre location is going to happen, it just isn't looking very optimistic. Apple's never listed in the list of stores when the project's discussed in the paper, and Apple isn't on the long list of stores at the sign they've recently posted at the site.

Still, I continue to hope. The mall is coming along, although not quite far enough now to drive on-site to see if you can see anything that looks like Apple. Once the roads are paved I'll try to sneak out there.
 
In Apple's quarterly report today it was stated that there will be 100 stores open by years end. With the posting of the Braintree store today that will make up the 100 projected stores. While the Braintree location can't be said to be sure without job listings it is likely to be the last store in 2004. This is about the minimum lead time needed to get people hired and trained for new stores.
 
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