Harrods of London 'Apple Shop' debut to coincide with new iPad launch

Posted:
in General Discussion edited January 2014


Upscale U.K. department store Harrods of London announced on Thursday that its new 'Harrods Technology' department, which includes a so-called 'Apple Shop,' will open its doors on Friday to launch the third generation iPad.



The official opening of the Harrods Technology department is set to take place at 10 a.m. on Friday, March 16, and is meant to coincide with the worldwide launch of Apple's new iPad, according to the store's official Twitter feed.



Apple's store-within-a-store will join other electronics manufacturers like Sony, LG, Samsung and others on the third floor of Harrods' world-famous Knightsbridge store. The department will also feature standalone boutiques for high-tech brands such as Bang & Olufsen and Porsche Design.



It is unclear whether Apple will get its own separate retail space, or if it will be akin to U.S. Best Buy locations where the iPad maker has a relatively undefined area for its products. In the Thursday announcement, a Harrods spokesman referred to an "Apple Shop," which is not the official "Apple Store" name that the Cupertino, Calif., company uses for its retail outlets.



Quote:

The new Harrods Technology department opens tomorrow morning complete with an Apple Shop, so come and get your ipad from 10am. #HarrodsTech— Harrods (@HarrodsofLondon) March 15, 2012








Apple Stores worldwide are expected to open their doors at 8 a.m. on Friday to throngs of customers hoping to nab a new iPad. The rollout will take place in ten countries including the U.S., Australia, Canada, France, Germany, Hong Kong, Japan, Singapore, Switzerland and the U.K. It will also be available in Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands.



In a Thursday announcement, mega-retailer Walmart said that it would be selling the tablet from 12:01 a.m. at its 24-hour U.S. locations.



[ View article on AppleInsider ]

Comments

  • Reply 1 of 10
    moxommoxom Posts: 326member
    I might check it out then...
  • Reply 2 of 10
    kkqd1337kkqd1337 Posts: 424member
    ooooo how posh
  • Reply 3 of 10
    moxommoxom Posts: 326member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by kkqd1337 View Post


    ooooo how posh



  • Reply 4 of 10
    SpamSandwichSpamSandwich Posts: 33,407member
    Analysts and bloggers, start your engines.
  • Reply 5 of 10
    jovikejovike Posts: 9member
    I wouldn't set too much store on the shop reference. Britons are used to going to shops to buy things; a store is where we store things, apart from department stores like Harrods.
  • Reply 6 of 10
    hungoverhungover Posts: 603member
    A bit of a non story.



    Most of the UK's departmental stores are basically a collection of concession stands, renting floor space from the store. Not dissimilar to the model used by Amazon et al.



    Only poor people, tourists and Hollywood think that Harrods is posh.. It lost it's "exclusivity" once the masses stopped doffing their caps to people wearing top hats
  • Reply 7 of 10
    I expect it will be a lot like the "Apple Shop" in many PCWorld stores in the UK. The "Apple Shop" is a section of the store, usually with some Macs, Macbooks and idevices on display. The one in our local PCWorld is about a 6th of the floor space overall. They sell all of the major lines (I actually got a MacMini there as is was more convenient than travelling 30+ miles to the nearest Apple Store.) The staff wear genius style shirts and seem to just deal with Apple related sales. There's usually only one or two vs to 20+ PCWorld floor staff.



    Bottom line, it's like an Apple reseller. It's no where near like the experience you get in the larger Apple Stores (like the ones in Regent Street or Covent Garden in London), but if you want to buy a product from someone who vaguely knows what they are talking about, it's a much more positive experience that before they got the in house Apple branding and the general floor staff knew zero about Apple products.



    On the Shop vs Store front - in the UK s "Shop" is the usual term used to describe what the American English speakers generally call "Store". The word "Store" to describe "Shop" is a recent thing, last 10 - 15 years I'd say, and usually refers to US chains or very large "Super Stores" which are built on trading estates on the outskirts of towns and cities.
  • Reply 8 of 10
    moxommoxom Posts: 326member
    Actually, Harrods Technology department is PC World rebranded...



  • Reply 9 of 10
    hungoverhungover Posts: 603member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by MoXoM View Post


    Actually, Harrods Technology department is PC World rebranded...







    For those on the other side of the pond, PC World is the UK technology version of the furniture store IKEA, which in turn is Swedish for HELL.
  • Reply 10 of 10
    Sounds like good news. I remember back in the depths of the previous millennium Harrods had the best deals on Apple computers! It was amusing to see people's reactions when they asked where I bought my Macs from. The London Covent Garden Apple Store doesn't even stock some basic Apple products. They look at me strangely when I ask to buy something.
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