Rumors of Massive Apple Retail Store for Paris as Virgin Vacates Prime Location

[super--nico]

Far too big

un Apple Store sur les Champs Elysées à la place du Virgin = far too big a space for iPads & iPods!

I'd be curious to learn how Apple would go about filling such a large space.

 

[kyjaotkb]

I expect Apple to have a store at the LOUVRE and that is final.

Come on Apple make me proud!

Well, if it's just for your pleasure then...
http://www.apple.com/fr/retail/carrouseldulouvre/

their first retail store in my hometown actually.

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It's a beautiful building inside. Very Apple. I used to shop there all the time when I lived in Paris. It's a local landmark and situated in a very prestigious location.

it used to be a bank in the past, always funny to walk through the former site of the massive safe door... definitely a landmark in the shopping circuit of Paris.

 

[Rocketman]

Virgin and Apple have a chummy relationship. What other prime locations does Virgin currently have that Apple might consider taking over the lease to, to reduce financial pressures on Virgin Music?

Rocketman

 

[Ciclismo]

Yes, yes. The loudness war. I have an answer to that:

Wish You Were Here, Pink Floyd, SACD.

Yamaha S-2000 Amp, Vintage AR 3a speakers.

-- Keep on Rock'n

So one well mastered album in a format now virtually dead means my argument is invalid and that Apple is indeed responsible for all evil to the audiophile world?

 

[northy124]

The Champs-Elysées location sounds a little overrated. I don't think many Parisians shop on the avenue.

Er what? have you been to Paris? if you had, you'd see many a Parisian shopping there.

 

[Skoua]

As a regular customer, I don't see how Apple could use so much space with a regular store. It's a huge place and the Apple Store at the Opéra Garnier is already too big for too few products.

I hope Virgin won't sell this place as it's my favorite to go buy video games and movies. :'(

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Tim Cook was in Paris to :
- attend hearings in a legal case between Apple and French Apple Premium Reseller eBizcuss
- probably discuss Kiosk issues with major newspaper

The Champs-Elysées location sounds a little overrated. I don't think many Parisians shop on the avenue. I don't know any. More likely tourists from Asia and Russia. But there are Apple Stores in Asia now. So 7000 m² for Russian tourists seems a tad big imho.

We do go there to do some shopping but it's also full of tourists (just like every other places in Paris but the crappy ones).

 

[Ping Guo]

I visited that Virgin store many times when I lived in Paris. It's huge, I don't know what Apple would do with all the space. As others mentioned, the Champs-Élysées is more of a tourist spot and not a place where Parisians go shopping. The Opéra location is however.

A French friend involved in real estate told me a lot of Champs-Élysées shops lose money due to astronomical rents - the flagship stores are there for the visibility.

 

[ade2bee]

Apple couldn't fill that location with unique products if it tried. 1 table, 1 iPhone, 3 laptops, and 3 desktops. Not to mention there is practically 0 software sold anymore at Apple stores in the USA. Even the Accessories are barely in the stores.

Now, maybe Apple wants to fill the location with 500 tablets or something...but overall I think it would be a waste of space/money unless the price was superb.

The past 3 Apple stores I've walked into (2 in MA 1 in CT) feel like I could drive a small truck between each table...nice layout, nice colors, very clean...but feels really empty in regards to products.

Apple certainly has the money to pay for the Paris real estate...but I wonder how empty it would feel product-wise.

Have you been to any of the stores in London and seen what they've done.

Imagine on e with a bigger theatre that Regents Street and tuition area? We have amazing lectures and Live bands over here...

 

[charlituna]

Apple couldn't fill that location with unique products if it tried. 1 table, 1 iPhone, 3 laptops, and 3 desktops. Not to mention there is practically 0 software sold anymore at Apple stores in the USA. Even the Accessories are barely in the stores.

They generally do more than 1 table, even more than 1 table for each product when they have this kind of space.

Plus they would have space for a huge customer training area etc. Go look at the recent Grand Central store for ideas of how it would go .

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I always thought it would be neat if they had a cafe. Hang out at the Apple store....

let encourage folks to hang out and use their stuff for free internet. AND have liquids around the demos.

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I doubt he goes and visits each store location anyway, he's got people for that.

Why not, Steve did.

Which begs the point, perhaps he was in Paris as part of a mini tour of visiting existing stores.

 

[Cubytus]

let encourage folks to hang out and use their stuff for free internet. AND have liquids around the demos.

Are French Apple Stores demos allowed to go on the Internet? I remember the FNAC's Apple demo products are just locked down to their core, which defeats the point of a demo.

On the other hand, French people is well-known for abusing from freebies, and will try to leverage everything to their advantage.

Why not, Steve did.

Which begs the point, perhaps he was in Paris as part of a mini tour of visiting existing stores.

Steve surely didn't visit the Montreal, QC store. It's so full of people they have a hard time entering and seeing products, making the shopping experience very unpleasant.

Plus, they keep doors wide open unless temps go below -15, or above 40. I'm not sure it's an order coming from above, but I just laugh when Apple boasts about saving energy while manufacturing their products.

Finally, their service is sub-crappy. Some managers there should be fired.

Better off buying from a well-known independant reseller that Micro Boutique is. Less stupid, more friendly

 

[charlituna]

Are French Apple Stores demos allowed to go on the Internet? I remember the FNAC's Apple demo products are just locked down to their core, which defeats the point of a demo.

US ones are and although I don't know I suspect that is true of all stores in all countries

 

[Cubytus]

US ones are and although I don't know I suspect that is true of all stores in all countries

Canadian ones are.

 

[ilpap]

Kinda amusing they could be taking over the space of an industry they helped kill (record stores).

they killed themselves long time ago..

 

[kyjaotkb]

Er what? have you been to Paris? if you had, you'd see many a Parisian shopping there.

well, I live in paris so - yeah, know what I'm talking about

 

[mfacey]

How big is this compared to say the 5th Ave store in NYC?