MacMall giving away $14K in products during launch of first Chicago retail store

Posted:
in General Discussion edited January 2014


Defying a trend that has long seen independent Apple resellers shutter their shops in the face of stiff competition from the Mac maker's own thriving retail operation, MacMall this weekend will continue with a rare expansion of its retail footprint with the launch of its first brick-and-mortar retail store outside Southern California.



The El Segundo, Calif.-based Apple Authorized Reseller and AppleInsider sponsor said Monday that the grand opening of its new store at 329 W. Grand Ave. in Chicago, Illinois will kick-off on Saturday, March 31 with a 10 a.m. ribbon cutting and raffle drawings for over $7,000 in technology products.



The first 500 people to visit the 7,000-square-foot store following its 9:00 a.m. opening will be entered into a drawing to win one of over 20 Apple-related products, including a new MacBook Air at 10:00am, followed by additional drawings throughout the day for a Wacom Intuos5 tablet, five Apple TVs, two iPod touch players, three iPod nanos, and an HP Officejet printer, among other items.



Additionally, MacMall says the first 100 people in line will receive a free limited edition T-shirt, while the first 200 who make a purchase will receive a free gift bag. The first 1,000 customers will also receive a limited edition MacMall 2-in-1 Stylus.



In addition to the grand opening on March 31st, the new Chicago store will feature separate drawings for an additional $7,000 worth of merchandise targeted at businesses customers. Those raffles will take place between March 26 and March 30, awarding three high-demand technology products each day to businesses. Those items will include a Wacom Intuos5 tablets, HP Folio notebooks, TouchSmart PCs and Slate tablets, and HP Top Shot printers.



















Located less than 3 blocks from Chicago's 4-million square foot Merchandise Mart landmark, the new shop will join three existing stores in Southern California. Each feature free daily seminars 7 days a week and are staffed with in-house technical experts who provide on-site Apple Authorized Service on both in- and out-of-warranty Apple products.



















MacMall, which vows to honor online pricing in each of its physical stores, says it plans to work in concert with Apple to continue its retail expansion going forward. The 27-year-old Apple reseller is actively seeking new storefronts in both Southern California and Chicago, in attention to scouting for its first potential location in New York City.



[ View article on AppleInsider ]

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Comments

  • Reply 1 of 25
    bdkennedy1bdkennedy1 Posts: 1,459member
    CompUSA is back!
  • Reply 2 of 25
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by AppleInsider View Post


    Defying a trend that has long seen independent Apple resellers shutter their shops in the face of stiff competition from the Mac maker's own thriving retail operation, MacMall this weekend will continue with a rare expansion of its retail footprint with the launch of its first brick-and-mortar retail store outside Southern California.






    Why does Apple allow them to sell at a discount? Apple must lose retail and web-based business to these guys due to the discounts. Apple products are not routinely sold at a discount.



    These guys are planning expansion into many of Apple's prime retail locations. Why does Apple put up with it?



    An obscure website is one thing. Retail stores with lines and t-shirt giveaways are straight out of Apple's playbook.
  • Reply 3 of 25
    This was the location of a CDW store that failed about 5 years ago. There is little parking available nearby and the corner is very congested, near the entrance to the Kennedy Expw (I-94). Good Luck, MacMall.
  • Reply 4 of 25
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by I am a Zither Zather Zuzz View Post


    Why does Apple allow them to sell at a discount? Apple must lose retail and web-based business to these guys due to the discounts. Apple products are not routinely sold at a discount.



    These guys are planning expansion into many of Apple's prime retail locations. Why does Apple put up with it?



    An obscure website is one thing. Retail stores with lines and t-shirt giveaways are straight out of Apple's playbook.



    I don't get what you mean. Apple retail stores are a convenience only. They sell at full retail. MacMall is a retail dealer, authorized by Apple to sell its products. Apple cannot force MacMall to sell at full MSRP. There are other, small computer stores that sell Mac and they discount. The problem is, Apple offers a wholesale price that is very close to its retail price, so non-Apple-owned dealers have a tiny margin to make a profit, hoping to sell accessories that have higher margins to keep the doors open. Apple is extremely stingy.
  • Reply 5 of 25
    jragostajragosta Posts: 10,473member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by I am a Zither Zather Zuzz View Post


    Why does Apple allow them to sell at a discount? Apple must lose retail and web-based business to these guys due to the discounts. Apple products are not routinely sold at a discount.



    These guys are planning expansion into many of Apple's prime retail locations. Why does Apple put up with it?



    An obscure website is one thing. Retail stores with lines and t-shirt giveaways are straight out of Apple's playbook.



    Funny how you're one of the ones attacking Apple for its agency pricing model when it comes to books, but when it comes to a retail store, you want Apple to insist on dictating the price the store charges.



    Unfortunately, you have your arguments backwards - Agency pricing is not illegal, but demanding that the stores sell only at list price might be (depends on circumstances).
  • Reply 6 of 25
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Bruceedits View Post


    I don't get what you mean. Apple retail stores are a convenience only. They sell at full retail. MacMall is a retail dealer, authorized by Apple to sell its products. Apple cannot force MacMall to sell at full MSRP. There are other, small computer stores that sell Mac and they discount. The problem is, Apple offers a wholesale price that is very close to its retail price, so non-Apple-owned dealers have a tiny margin to make a profit, hoping to sell accessories that have higher margins to keep the doors open. Apple is extremely stingy.



    I wasn't aware that there are many retail locations at which to get discounted Apple stuff. I haven't seen them. The usual retail suspects seem to sell them at full boat retail, like the Apple stores do. Or am I wrong about that? Best Buy? Sears? do they discount Apple stuff routinely? Or just for special sales?
  • Reply 7 of 25
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by jragosta View Post


    Funny how you're one of the ones attacking Apple for its agency pricing model when it comes to books, but when it comes to a retail store, you want Apple to insist on dictating the price the store charges.




    Yeah - the topic of this thread is all about what a bad person I am.



    Troll.



    And BTW, neither of your two assertions are correct.
  • Reply 8 of 25
    Best Buy often times sells Apple products at a discount. Most times when I go into Best Buy, Apple computers are usually $100 below retail.



    Wal-Mart and Sam's Club both sell Apple products below retail, but not by very much.



    Amazon rarely sells Apple Computers at MSRP. It's very common.



    Apple doesn't care, no matter where you buy a Mac, it came from them somewhere down the distribution line.
  • Reply 9 of 25
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by I am a Zither Zather Zuzz View Post


    Why does Apple allow them to sell at a discount? Apple must lose retail and web-based business to these guys due to the discounts. Apple products are not routinely sold at a discount.



    These guys are planning expansion into many of Apple's prime retail locations. Why does Apple put up with it?



    An obscure website is one thing. Retail stores with lines and t-shirt giveaways are straight out of Apple's playbook.



    I'm not sure about the discount thing (I think some of them are tied to other purchases as well), I am glad they are putting a store there. It is not too far from either of the Apple Stores in Chicago, but it is going to have a lot more merchandise than either of them do. The Apple Stores are rally nice, but as a not-at-all-wealthy person, I could use some more Mac help in the city.



    When it comes to the Mac, Best Buy sucks (I don't even think they have Macs turned on, and no one there who knows anything about them). I've purchased Apple and Apple related products from CDW (when they were alive on Chicago Avenue) and CompUSA when they were at the location they MacMall will be on Grand. While there was no Apple Store in existence at the time, it was nice to have some assistance in, what was then, a niche market.



    Now that Apple is really blowing up, in both the public and soon to be corporate worlds, it is going to be nice to get whatever support you can, especially for small and medium sized businesses that would like to get support for Apple products that they can't afford from Apple. Remember there are a lot of advertising agencies in that area, as well as quite a few publisher, art galleries, upscale restaurants and other businesses in the area that want to 'get their Apple on!'.



    Now if we can just get something on the South Side, maybe in the University of Chicago are, we will be good to go!
  • Reply 10 of 25
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Bruceedits View Post


    This was the location of a CDW store that failed about 5 years ago. There is little parking available nearby and the corner is very congested, near the entrance to the Kennedy Expw (I-94). Good Luck, MacMall.





    True, but did you ever try to park by the Apple Store on Michigan avenue? This location is actually pretty decent. Thousands of Chicagoans live within walking/biking distance, but we'll see. I actually like the option and competition. CDW failed for reasons other than this location.
  • Reply 11 of 25
    whoa! whoa! whoa! really? is this true? omg! i must tell my friend
  • Reply 12 of 25
    I hope they don't come to Dallas,TX. I don't want to pay taxes on my online purchases.
  • Reply 13 of 25
    Nice photoshop job on that first picture. Pulled it right from the Google maps street view and added the Macmall logo to the building. Same two guys standing on the corner.
  • Reply 14 of 25
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by I am a Zither Zather Zuzz View Post


    Yeah - the topic of this thread is all about what a bad person I am.



    Troll.



    And BTW, neither of your two assertions are correct.



    In an attempt to call out a troller, you yourself have "trolled". Simple laws of logic can point out someone's fallacious thinking without the need for "trolling". For instance:



    Quote:

    Troll.



    This is an example of an Ad Hominem. "Name calling" does not negate or confirm one's position in an argument. If anything it just demonstrates a failed attempt to provide a logical answer in response to someone's argument. If recognized for what it is, it will in fact reduce the credibility of the person using the "name calling" tactic.



    [QUOTE}And BTW, neither of your two assertions are correct.[/QUOTE]

    Claiming an assertion is false does not prove that is false. Please elaborate your argument in the future.
  • Reply 15 of 25
    jd2bjd2b Posts: 2member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by pjgchicago View Post


    True, but did you ever try to park by the Apple Store on Michigan avenue? This location is actually pretty decent. Thousands of Chicagoans live within walking/biking distance, but we'll see. I actually like the option and competition. CDW failed for reasons other than this location.



    Right, retail just isn't/wasn't part of their strategy. They still have their Vernon Hills showroom, but that is basically just a storefront to their warehouse. CDW wants no part of consumer sales.
  • Reply 16 of 25
    deepkiddeepkid Posts: 97member
    Many moons ago, prolly up until 9/11, this store location used to be a CDW. Got a beige G3 Power Mac there.
  • Reply 17 of 25
    deepkiddeepkid Posts: 97member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by deepkid View Post


    Many moons ago, prolly up until 9/11, this store location used to be a CDW. Got a beige G3 Power Mac there.



    Ooops! Looks like Bruce beat me to it.
  • Reply 18 of 25
    conrailconrail Posts: 489member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by I am a Zither Zather Zuzz View Post


    I wasn't aware that there are many retail locations at which to get discounted Apple stuff. I haven't seen them. The usual retail suspects seem to sell them at full boat retail, like the Apple stores do. Or am I wrong about that? Best Buy? Sears? do they discount Apple stuff routinely? Or just for special sales?



    Best Buy discounts laptops and Imacs, but I don't think they discount iPods, iPads, or any accessories. Most major etailers discount the computer line a small amount. The big advantage of macmall is no sales tax, at least in most states. Opening a retail store pretty much screwed their online business in that regard.



    And Apple resellers can discount all they want. I bought a base model 2009 mac pro last spring from JR.com for $1699. Brand new and sealed.
  • Reply 19 of 25
    deepkiddeepkid Posts: 97member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by pjgchicago View Post


    True, but did you ever try to park by the Apple Store on Michigan avenue? This location is actually pretty decent. Thousands of Chicagoans live within walking/biking distance, but we'll see. I actually like the option and competition. CDW failed for reasons other than this location.



    Absolutely. That CDW went down quickly and it was common to see any Mac stuff in horrible shape... missing keys, not powered and the staff seemed to not give a damn at one point. This was the heated era of being abused if you walked in asking about Macs. At our former CompUSA location on Chicago near Michigan, they would ignore you, berate you and just flat out insult you before the store allowed a Mac store to move in. I still remember the sole Mac guy who worked that CompUSA location. He was the antithesis of those grumpy PC types who only saw you as a quick commission.
  • Reply 20 of 25
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by macminiwii View Post


    I hope they don't come to Dallas,TX. I don't want to pay taxes on my online purchases.



    ^This
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