Two Apple Stores in U.S. Permanently Closing Today

[HenryAH]

I bought my first Apple device at the Royal Hawaiian location in the summer of 2009 while on vacation in Waikiki, it was the Apple iPod Touch. I lusted for the iPhone but could find no valid reason for owning one (our work phones back then were Blackberrys), so the Touch was a great compromise, especially for loading music. It was an elegantly designed device and still works today.

 

[svish]

Since the opening of the Apple Park Visitor centre, the Infinite Loop store would have been getting even fewer customers. Was only a matter of time before it closed down.

 

[swixo]

I’ll miss Infinite Loop. Was convenient and iconic.

 

[dampfnudel]

There are 3 Apple Stores in Honolulu. The Royal Hawaiian location closing is definitely not the busiest. The Apple Store at Ala Moana Shopping Center a mile away is much busier at any given time consistently.

Apple probably figured that tourists in Waikiki will make it over to Ala Moana.

 

[dominiongamma]

I miss when Apple opened new stores and not shut down existing ones

 

[BellSystem]

I’d be willing to bet they are getting ready to dump the Infinite Loop property. They will probably have some rounds of quiet layoffs to clear it out. I have to imagine if you were left behind there…you aren’t too critical.

 

[eXan]

I can’t believe there’s closing the store in Honolulu. It’s probably one of the busiest ones I’ve ever seen.

When I was there last year I was taken aback with how empty it was. The storefront was beautiful though, must have cost them too much to keep it.

 

[JayMysterio]

I got my Apple watch Series 9 in the Royal Hawaiian store while I was back for a funeral. It's location is rather interesting on that strip as it's "across" the street somewhat from a Balenciaga & a Tesla store. On that road with the hotels it's like a strip with very high end stores & convenience stores. I always imagined the store was there more for tourists on vacation who may have needed help with their Apple products, and less a major selling place.

I also thought the store was rather dark for an Apple store. The service was like any other Apple store I've gone to though, top notch. Buying my Apple watch & trading in my old towards it while in another state was a complete breeze. Always sad to see an Apple store closing.

 

[Blackstick]

I’d be willing to bet they are getting ready to dump the Infinite Loop property. They will probably have some rounds of quiet layoffs to clear it out. I have to imagine if you were left behind there…you aren’t too critical.

The real estate seating assignments aren't necessarily correlated to their job roles.

A lot of the chip design teams are quartered in IL, for example because that's where a lot of the labs and prototyping machines were installed and they're a pain (and costly) to move compared to a tax accountant or privacy lawyer with a MacBook who gets told "here's a tote for anything that isn't your MacBook, pack up your desk Friday after lunch, on Monday report to this new desk -- our movers will bring your tote to it."

With big companies... they'll inevitably move your desk as they consolidate real estate leases at some point-- but it's rarely correlated with your job performance or relevance to the team.

Some of the most critical teams at our software company, have the crappiest offices because their work can't be interrupted for moves at the height of tax season... this summer we can finally shift them.

 

[BellSystem]

The real estate seating assignments aren't necessarily correlated to their job roles.

A lot of the chip design teams are quartered in IL, for example because that's where a lot of the labs and prototyping machines were installed and they're a pain (and costly) to move compared to a tax accountant or privacy lawyer with a MacBook who gets told "here's a tote for anything that isn't your MacBook, pack up your desk Friday after lunch, on Monday report to this new desk -- our movers will bring your tote to it."

With big companies... they'll inevitably move your desk as they consolidate real estate leases at some point-- but it's rarely correlated with your job performance or relevance to the team.

Some of the most critical teams at our software company, have the crappiest offices because their work can't be interrupted for moves at the height of tax season... this summer we can finally shift them.

Except the majority of the people normally in that building moved to the new campus. From what I heard people were moved from other places and leases on those locations were dropped. At some point they will need to shrink the payroll and real estate portfolio. Given how much they don’t value the past unless it sells Watch bands….I can see them dumping this place. It’s probably due for renovation at this point.

 

[Gymnut]

I can’t believe there’s closing the store in Honolulu. It’s probably one of the busiest ones I’ve ever seen.

The rent had to have been ridiculously high at the Royal Hawaiian given its location. That store really was for the tourists who were staying in Waikiki and the Ala Moana store can still fill that need. The Japanese tourism market in Hawaii also hasn't returned to pre-pandemic levels.

 

[Infinitewisdom]

So what exactly have you done to make you qualified to judge Tim Cook’s decisions?

 

[ThomasJL]

You mean the guy who sent JCPenney spiraling and got fired after less than two years then founded Enjoy Technology, which also failed? Sure, sounds like a great plan. I suspect Apple's retail success during his tenure had less to do with him and more with Apple's overall success in those years. Retail drove further success, though.

Ron Johnson was the mastermind behind the Apple Store. Yes, he did a bad job with the companies he worked for after Apple, but it was him who played the single biggest role in creating the Apple Store, which played a huge role in making Apple products known by the mainstream.

Most Apple stores are named with some identifier more specific than a city name, even in cities which don't have multiple locations. My nearest Apple store is Apple Penn Square, named after the shopping mall it's located inside, even though it's the only location in Oklahoma City.

You're right about that. I have edited my previous post as a result.

 

[scaramoosh]

No one goes to stores anymore apart from repair, so they should just open repair centres.

 

[chachawpi]

As long as you can still buy Apple branded merch like coffee mugs and t-shirts at the Apple Park Visitor Center I don’t care. Time marches on, things change.

Do people actually pay Apple for Apple swag? Shouldn't Apple be giving that away? A bit cultish if not.

 

[JayMysterio]

Do people actually pay Apple for Apple swag? Shouldn't Apple be giving that away? A bit cultish if not.

Often times swag's been more associated with the free stuff given out. Branding on the other hand people happily pay for. If you want to call that cultish, I'm those who buy special stuff from specific stores you can't get elsewhere might argue with you. Swag's kind of become this catch all phrase used incorrectly at times. The poster did say "merch" though, which is basically branded things sold to customers / fans.

 

[lkrupp]

Do people actually pay Apple for Apple swag? Shouldn't Apple be giving that away? A bit cultish if not.

Most major brands do NOT distribute swag (as you call it) for free. You have to pay for their hats, t-shirts, coffee mugs, keychains, etc.

 

[chachawpi]

Most major brands do NOT distribute swag (as you call it) for free. You have to pay for their hats, t-shirts, coffee mugs, keychains, etc.

It doesn't seem much different to me than people who buy Trump flags, hats, etc. Why pay to be free advertising?

 

[JayMysterio]

It doesn't seem much different to me than people who buy Trump flags, hats, etc. Why pay to be free advertising?

Because it's basically the same as buying merch that supports one's favorite sports team. Many people associate with supporting something & wanting others to know they support their favorite something. It's your basic tribalism, but not done to an unhealthy degree. Some may want to proudly show they are a Lions fan, that they really like the Jordan brand style, or are proud of being a Grateful Dead fan. It's something a consumer chooses to buy that may represent themselves as well as something they are proud of. It's not some new foreign concept.

Swag on the other hand has been associated with things like the famous "swag bags" given out at events like at Apple press events, openings, comic book conventions, or even awards shows with celebrities.

It's "free advertising" if you don't want to pay for it & don't care about what's represented, but that's your feelings. If people support your brand / cause / event / team, they will often want others to know they support. It's foolish not to offer something for free or even better if you can make some change off of it.

Then again, there's merch that comes along & makes you question what people are thinking.

 

[pasamio]

Sad to see Infinite Loop go as it was perhaps one of the most convenient to get to of the lot. Minimal tourists, reasonable amount of close parking and accessible to 280. I wondered how long it'd last with the Spaceship store being clearly much better invested in for the long run.