Apple retail update: Milan, Ottawa, Washington DC, more

Posted:
in General Discussion edited January 2014
In spite of the economy forcing a more cautious approach to store openings, Apple is off to a strong start for its 2009 retail efforts with recruitment for a Milan, Italy store and locations in progress for the North American capital cities of Ottawa, Canada and Washington, DC.



While a global recession is contributing to Apple's plans to open just 25 new stores throughout the year, the emphasis is now on major cities in existing markets that, as of yet, don't have any official Apple points of sale.



One of the first likely to make its appearance is a Milan store, which Italian site Macitynet confirmed after discovering job postings for the location on Apple's recruitment pages. While an opening date isn't set, the store is expected before the end of 2009 and would be Apple's second in the southern European country after its Rome shop in the Roma Est mall.



Other international debuts are for countries that already have a significantly wider Apple retail presence but which still have conspicuous gaps. Notably, ifoAppleStore says it has identified Ottawa as the next Canadian city to get its first Apple store. A location is reportedly due to open by late summer in the capital's four-storey Rideau Centre mall, which is located in the downtown core and just a few minutes' walk from Parliament Hill.



AppleInsider can confirm that Apple has posted job listings for the city, which would be the first Ontario city outside of the greater Toronto area to have an Apple store.



And while no official posts confirm it, ifo also says the long-delayed Brighton, UK store is due to open in the same general timespan as Ottawa, with the storefront appearing at Churchill Square.



Additional UK rumblings have also surfaced which hint that the planned three-storey Apple store in London's Covent Garden district should begin construction soon; previous reports have pegged it for an early 2010 opening.



Back home, Apple is also believed closer to getting approval for construction of its store in the Georgetown area of Washington, DC. Although the company's designs have been frequently rejected by the Old Georgetown Board for clashing with local architecture, a fourth proposal is being submitted to the board on Thursday that resembles its first but reduces the amount of front glass to be more in keeping with the mostly brick buildings along Wisconsin Avenue.



Washington's mayoral office has vowed not to let the tentative store slip out of the city's hands and says it will "step in" to help strike a compromise and revitalize the shopping district.



More expansion is also slated for the general area, AppleInsider has learned. Apple has signed a lease and received construction permits for a store in Reston, Virginia -- about half an hour West of Washington. The location would replace an Eddie Bauer store in Reston Town Center, between the nearby Hyatt hotel and Library Street. When this store would open isn't known.

Comments

  • Reply 1 of 16
    The Washington Post has posted images of the designs Apple submitted for Georgetown. Amazingly, they tried to sell the board on the 5th Avenue glass cube. Seriously! Even I would know that would not gain acceptance in a historical district. According to the Georgetown Metropolitan, one of the two boards Apple needs approval from approved the last design.
  • Reply 2 of 16
    eckingecking Posts: 1,588member
    Wow I move and away from Rideau and boom! Apple store. Whatever, I moved to an area with even more apple stores
  • Reply 3 of 16
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by ecking View Post


    Wow I move and away from Rideau and boom! Apple store. Whatever, I moved to an area with even more apple stores



    well, I am still here, and so happy
  • Reply 4 of 16
    Just so you know, next time you post a link to a mechanical translation: it seems that Google has translated bits of the Italian article to mean the exact opposite of what the original meant, not only by misplacing negatives, but also by carefully selecting words that mean the opposite of their Italian counterpart.



    No idea how that might have happened, but it did.
  • Reply 5 of 16
    pxtpxt Posts: 683member
    Good to see more european stores. I have often said that europe is a good match for apple products, even more so than the US/UK.
  • Reply 6 of 16
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by PXT View Post


    Good to see more european stores. I have often said that europe is a good match for apple products, even more so than the US/UK.



    i just wonder why germany is approached so timidly/slowly...???



    berlin, hamburg, frankfurt, cologne and stuttgart are all very profitable markets for one or more apple stores per city...
  • Reply 7 of 16
    ouraganouragan Posts: 437member
    Last October 17, 2008, I remarked that the Rideau Centre was an ideal location for an Apple Ottawa Store. See:



    http://forums.appleinsider.com/showt...55#post1325555





    I left out the demographics in my last post, but it's never too late to do good. Ottawa is one of the fastest growing center in Canada with a population of 900,000 and, across the river, Gatineau (where I live), with a population of 250,000.



    The Ottawa-Gatineau area has 4 universities and grew by 250,000 people between 1982 and 2002, for the most part aged between 18 and 30 years of age. The same growth is projected for the following 20 years, between 2002 and 2022.



    Good decision, Apple. I'll pay you a visit when the Ottawa store is open for business. See you soon!









    P.S.: The first rule of real estate is: location, location, location. Rideau Centre is just the right location for an Apple Store.
  • Reply 8 of 16
    phongphong Posts: 219member
    Great, even more places where they can sell their 40-month old desktop line.
  • Reply 9 of 16
    Quote:

    Washington's mayoral office has vowed not to let the tentative store slip out of the city's hands and says it will "step in" to help strike a compromise and revitalize the shopping district.



    "Revitalize?" Have you been to Georgetown? Not exactly an up and coming neighborhood.
  • Reply 10 of 16
    While I agree that the Rideau Centre mall location is an obvious choice for a downtown Ottawa Apple retail store, it is also the only Ottawa-area shopping centre that requires customers to pay for their parking. For this reason alone the more suburban malls will continue to attract clientele who do not want the usual cost and congestion problems of making the downtown trip.



    Also, directly adjacent to the Rideau Centre complex is the vibrant farmers' market area that over many years has become the entertainment and retail hub for the city. This could be an even better choice for Apple providing greater street visibility and equivalent access to a younger demographic.



    But, no matter where the Ottawa Apple store is located, it will become a hot destination retailer just as has its similar outlet in the downtown Toronto Eaton Centre.
  • Reply 11 of 16
    Does anyone know when they're gonna open an Apple Store in Edinburgh? I read ages ago that it was coming sometime soon...



    Thanks
  • Reply 12 of 16
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by jandro View Post


    "Revitalize?" Have you been to Georgetown? Not exactly an up and coming neighborhood.



    Read the full article in the Post. Georgetown isn't down-and-out, but it's not considered very trendy or cutting edge anymore. Its retail thunder has been stolen by other neighborhoods (oh, how awesome it would be to have an Apple Store in Chinatown, U Street, or even Columbia Heights). In a way they're reaping what they sew -- Georgetown wasn't exactly enthusiastic about getting a Metro stop in the 1970s, so now they're cut off from the rest of the city.



    Even when this store opens, I'll still go to the Pentagon City store more because it's on the same subway line as me, despite the fact that, as the crow flies, Georgetown is closer.
  • Reply 13 of 16
    dualiedualie Posts: 334member
    Better late than never in Ottawa, but it really shouldn't have taken this long. It's Canada's fourth largest city for crying out loud, and I suspect it has one of the highest per capita annual incomes in the country.
  • Reply 14 of 16
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Avpub View Post


    While I agree that the Rideau Centre mall location is an obvious choice for a downtown Ottawa Apple retail store, it is also the only Ottawa-area shopping centre that requires customers to pay for their parking. For this reason alone the more suburban malls will continue to attract clientele who do not want the usual cost and congestion problems of making the downtown trip.



    Also, directly adjacent to the Rideau Centre complex is the vibrant farmers' market area that over many years has become the entertainment and retail hub for the city. This could be an even better choice for Apple providing greater street visibility and equivalent access to a younger demographic.



    But, no matter where the Ottawa Apple store is located, it will become a hot destination retailer just as has its similar outlet in the downtown Toronto Eaton Centre.



    people may be okay for the paying fees for an apple store.
  • Reply 15 of 16
    Quote:

    While I agree that the Rideau Centre mall location is an obvious choice for a downtown Ottawa Apple retail store, it is also the only Ottawa-area shopping centre that requires customers to pay for their parking. For this reason alone the more suburban malls will continue to attract clientele who do not want the usual cost and congestion problems of making the downtown trip.





    While it might be true that parking is not free underneath Rideau Center, I should add that Ottawa is an East-West City and that all bus lines come out of the downtown core and go East by travelling on either the North or the South side of Rideau Center which has become a major bus hub. Buses that go North to Gatineau also stop at Rideau Center.



    The planned light rail system, soon to be built, will make a stop at Rideau Center. The Ottawa Congress Centre with its hotel is in the South-West corner of Rideau Center and will see a major expansion on top of Rideau Center.



    The Farmers' Market, just one street North of Rideau Center, is the most vibrant and trendy part of Ottawa, a magnet for tourists and young people alike with all its bars and restaurants.



    Location, location, location.





  • Reply 16 of 16
    I live in ottawa and I love AppleStores, ive totaly been looking for a new job too. I already pre-applyed for three jobs there. Its prettyyy swweet
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