Three Apple Stores in U.S. Are Permanently Closing Today

[Plutonius]

Is this basically the same article from earlier when the closings were announced ?

 

[Fishrrman]

The issue of "declining conditions" at a number of malls is valid.
Certainly true of the one in Trumbull, CT.

Google "chris rock malls". Humor with the bite of truth.
(I will say no more)

 

[MNGR]

Won't get into the union topic, but retail overall has been dying a slow death for years. The Apple stores that anchor in an indoor mall are the most vulnerable. Where I live there are about 4 locations under 25 miles away, most are relatively busy still but the shops around them are slowly shutting their doors.

Unless you have a special order/config there is really little benefit to buying directly from Apple. Best Buy and Amazon routinely offers discounts and special financing terms when Apple never puts their inventory on sale.

The Apple store in the Altamonte Springs mall is usually busy.
Mall appears to be doing OK except for where Sears was. (I miss Sears)

 

[DougiePhresh]

Okay but what does the contract actually say? The Union claim is that it requires equal treatment, of which this would be a violation of. It may be that the contract requires the *option* of severance if a new store doesn’t open within 50 miles, not that it requires only offering severance.

From everything I have read - Apple asserts that the contract contains the 50-mile clause. While the Union is simply claiming, all employees should be treated equally - the Union does not appear to mention the contract in any of their arguments.

So, until I see information otherwise, it appears that the contract has the 50-mile clause, but the Union does not want that clause (in a contract they agreed to) enforced because it’s ‘unfair’

 

[DelayedGratificationGene]

Here’s a monumental solution for Apple Towson Workers…go stick it to Apple by getting a better job! There ya go stop wasting time protesting and use that time to get another job.

 

[Plutonius]

The Apple store in the Altamonte Springs mall is usually busy.
Mall appears to be doing OK except for where Sears was. (I miss Sears)

It's not necessarily how busy it is.

Apple looks at the estimated generated income vs the cost.

In many malls, the mall total foot traffic is down (in some cases considerably)

 

[Plutonius]

Here’s a monumental solution for Apple Towson Workers…go stick it to Apple by getting a better job! There ya go stop wasting time protesting and use that time to get another job.

I agree but one of the purposes of the union was to get the workers a higher than normal wage.

It may be impossible for most of the workers to get a job that pays as much.

 

[ikramerica]

Not all malls are struggling

A New Generation of Mall Rats Has Arrived

Gen Z shoppers are hanging out at malls and documenting everything on social media, helping boost a budding recovery in stores.

www.wsj.com

Not All Malls Are Struggling

A certain type of shopping mall has become a surprising bright spot for real estate investors.

www.nytimes.com

No, just too many.

There was a mall boom time, now there are too many. The ones surviving are thriving, adding lots of restaurants, etc.

There is one in Arcadia California that added an Asian “restaurant street” inside that is like you might find in Asian cities with lots of small bars and stands with different food. They also added a bunch of other restaurants, and it’s a destination. Add in movies, bowling, dave and busters, golds gym, and Asian market, and good stores and the place is super busy all the time.

Other smaller or lesser quality malls have struggled or closed, but good malls are going to stick around.

Here’s a monumental solution for Apple Towson Workers…go stick it to Apple by getting a better job! There ya go stop wasting time protesting and use that time to get another job.

They are also free to apply for openings at other Apple stores. Just not assured a job.

 

[Someyoungguy]

I see a lot of comments here to the effect of, well, malls are declining, if sales or foot traffic are down, that's just the way it goes. Except, Apple never mentions same-store sales, or customer experience, or foot-traffic numbers. Why is everyone taking them at their word - from the same people who said the iPhone 16 Pro was AI-ready?

The only substantive thing reported here is that 3 stores in a 120-store mall have closed in the past year, the largest being Tommy Bahama. I have never set foot in any Tommy Bahama and fail to see its relationship to the Apple store, where I have been many times and purchased my first Apple computer. Whether you're for unions or not, what Apple is doing here is quite clear if you weren't born yesterday.

 

[kpluck]

Whether you're for unions or not, what Apple is doing here is quite clear if you weren't born yesterday.

Exactly! I don't know why people have such a hard time understanding that. They are honoring the terms of a collective bargaining agreement. It is as simple as that.

😜

-kp

 

[FatLouie]

From everything I have read - Apple asserts that the contract contains the 50-mile clause. While the Union is simply claiming, all employees should be treated equally - the Union does not appear to mention the contract in any of their arguments.

So, until I see information otherwise, it appears that the contract has the 50-mile clause, but the Union does not want that clause (in a contract they agreed to) enforced because it’s ‘unfair’

Exactly. I have seen the same 'blindness' both when I worked and when I was in the union, and when I was not. When it did not go the way our union wanted, they would often obfuscate the facts.

As someone briefly mentioned in an earlier post, as we have not seen anything from the Department of Labor, or the NLRB...Apple seems to be in the right regarding its interpretation of the contract.

I am sorry these folks are losing their jobs; it is painful for sure. Contract law is about what is in the contract, not about emotions, or 'we really meant this'.

 

[ikramerica]

I see a lot of comments here to the effect of, well, malls are declining, if sales or foot traffic are down, that's just the way it goes. Except, Apple never mentions same-store sales, or customer experience, or foot-traffic numbers. Why is everyone taking them at their word - from the same people who said the iPhone 16 Pro was AI-ready?

The only substantive thing reported here is that 3 stores in a 120-store mall have closed in the past year, the largest being Tommy Bahama. I have never set foot in any Tommy Bahama and fail to see its relationship to the Apple store, where I have been many times and purchased my first Apple computer. Whether you're for unions or not, what Apple is doing here is quite clear if you weren't born yesterday.

The mall has 25% vacancy with many of those vacancies near the Apple store.

 

[SmugMaverick]

Apple stores are soulless and sterile these days, mostly empty unless its a new product like iPhone or you get a group of OAP's asking why their phone is confusing (it's upside down).

sticking a few ugly trees inside doesn't change this.

 

[madrigal77]

Classic case of unions exploiting workers just as much as employers exploit workers. "Thanks for your union dues, now we will negotiate an agreement on your behalf that does nothing to protect you -- but keep paying those dues"

Unions are nothing but a ponzi scheme making the usinion bosses rich off the dues.

 

[m4mario]

If only the American teacher's union is banned, in other words, if bad performing teachers can be fired and good performing ones can be promoted, the quality of American public schools can easily match the quality of private schools. It's the same kind of teachers with just different performance/reward structure that makes private schools so much more successful.

 

[I7guy]

Apple stores are soulless and sterile these days, mostly empty unless its a new product like iPhone or you get a group of OAP's asking why their phone is confusing (it's upside down).

sticking a few ugly trees inside doesn't change this.

And yet they work just fine. I’m not going into an Apple Store to judge the architecture I’m going to buy something , look at something or get something resolved. But I digress.

 

[surferfb]

The only substantive thing reported here is that 3 stores in a 120-store mall have closed in the past year, the largest being Tommy Bahama. I have never set foot in any Tommy Bahama and fail to see its relationship to the Apple store, where I have been many times and purchased my first Apple computer. Whether you're for unions or not, what Apple is doing here is quite clear if you weren't born yesterday.

It’s not “3 stores that closed”. The vacancy rate is 47 out of 180 stores (26%).

Just since the closure was announced this year, there has been a student shot and killed outside the mall (less then three weeks ago), an armed carjacking, and a shooting in March.

Look at the quotes in this article

Towson Town Center sees 26% vacancy rate as community blames crime

Some people told CBS News Baltimore that they don't come to the Towson mall that much because of crime concerns.

www.cbsnews.com

"I used to see people walking just to get exercise, and they had really quality stores like Tommy Bahama, and now it's a scary place," said Joan Bennett, from Cockeysville, Maryland.

"They're young people that hang there and cause trouble and it feels unsafe," another neighbor said.

"I used to frequent malls, and now when I'm there, I'm kind of looking to see what's going on around me and not feeling free to walk around as I used to," said Eunice James, from White Marsh.

 

[FatLouie]

..

 

[tenordrum]

Why would a food union or the Teamsters represent Apple retail employees? They don't represent those types of industries.

UFCW has represented workers many types of retail stores, not just food stores. Food and Commercial workers. Teamsters also have retail store contracts (e.g. Costco) There are over 18K employees represented by the Teamsters at Costco alone. I have over 40 years of experience serving those types of union workers for both the UFCW and the Teamsters in several parts of the US. Both of those unions are very familiar with retail store issues and warehouse issues. So yes, they represent those industries and many more. Back in 1993, the RWDSU (retail, wholesale, department store union) merged into the UFCW.