Apple to shut down higher education Authorized Campus Stores in Canada this June

Posted:
in General Discussion edited March 2014
Canadian post-secondary students with access to an Apple Authorized Campus Store will soon have to look elsewhere for Macs and iPads, as the company has decided not to re-up contracts with higher education outlets due to declining sales.

Campus


People familiar with Apple's plans said the company will be closing all community college and university Authorized Campus Stores in Canada sometime in June. The move comes as students increasingly turn to the Online Apple Store or major retail chains to purchase Macs and iOS devices, making the Apple-subsidized on-campus stores financially unviable.

Sources told AppleInsider that Apple will not sign its usual contracts with certain Canadian educational institutions, but the exact date on which the current agreements expire is unknown.

The sources, however, note current Authorized Campus Stores have until May 31 to sell existing Mac and iPad stock, suggesting an early June end date. After supply is exhausted, campus shops will only be allowed to sell accessories and peripherals.

Apple's change in policy has sparked a fire sale at some institutions like the University of Victoria in British Columbia, which is "blowing out" Apple inventory at-cost. For most products, markdowns are not substantial, but now may be a good time to buy for students in the market for big-ticket items like a MacBook Pro.

As for the U.S., Apple is expected to keep the Authorized Campus Store initiative alive -- at least for now -- as some larger institutions generate substantial revenue for the company. On a whole, however, campus sales performance has been slowly sinking to sub-par levels.

Apple has long touted its role in education, beginning with the earliest Macs, then with the eMac initiative and now the iPad in education push. Although it will no longer have an official physical presence on campuses across Canada come June, Apple will continue to serve educational discounts through its online storefront and authorized dealers.

AppleInsider has requested comment from Apple and will update when a response is received.
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Comments

  • Reply 1 of 69
    sudonymsudonym Posts: 233member

    Too bad, kids.  Had you spent enough at the campus stores, you would not be losing them.  Too late now.  Enjoy driving to the city.

  • Reply 2 of 69
    mstonemstone Posts: 11,510member
    Quote:

    Originally Posted by SudoNym View Post

     

    Too bad, kids.  Had you spent enough at the campus stores, you would not be losing them.  Too late now.  Enjoy driving to the city.


    That or order online at Apple.com which is probably what they are already doing hence declining sales at the campus shop.

  • Reply 3 of 69
    Very short sighted on the part of Apple. Apple technology in campus stores has made Apple computers the default for students and faculty. Dell, the previous darling on campuses, has not had campus sales for quite some time.

    Apple is clearly being run with only immediate profits the driving force. If Apple continues this trend, it is dead, and there won't be another Steve Jobs coming along to save their asses.
  • Reply 5 of 69
    jungmarkjungmark Posts: 6,926member
    Very short sighted on the part of Apple. Apple technology in campus stores has made Apple computers the default for students and faculty. Dell, the previous darling on campuses, has not had campus sales for quite some time.

    Apple is clearly being run with only immediate profits the driving force. If Apple continues this trend, it is dead, and there won't be another Steve Jobs coming along to save their asses.
    Really? What pct of Apple sales to students come from these college stores?
  • Reply 6 of 69
    SpamSandwichSpamSandwich Posts: 33,407member
    Very short sighted on the part of Apple. Apple technology in campus stores has made Apple computers the default for students and faculty. Dell, the previous darling on campuses, has not had campus sales for quite some time.

    Apple is clearly being run with only immediate profits the driving force. If Apple continues this trend, it is dead, and there won't be another Steve Jobs coming along to save their asses.

    Hahaha!

    What do you mean you weren't joking?
  • Reply 7 of 69
    Quote:

    Originally Posted by waldobushman View Post



    Very short sighted on the part of Apple. Apple technology in campus stores has made Apple computers the default for students and faculty. Dell, the previous darling on campuses, has not had campus sales for quite some time.



    Apple is clearly being run with only immediate profits the driving force. If Apple continues this trend, it is dead, and there won't be another Steve Jobs coming along to save their asses.



    You forgot to add, "Apple is doomed!"

     

    I don't see a problem with closing these stores if sales from them are declining.  The article clearly states that students, etc. are turning to the Apple store and retail chains for their purchases. 

  • Reply 8 of 69
    Quote:

    Originally Posted by jungmark View Post





    Really? What pct of Apple sales to students come from these college stores?

    It doesn't matter. Until relatively recently, the idea of buying an Apple was considered a stupid move. Dell was the default on the campuses I'm familiar with. What happens during orientation when mom and dad accompany their freshman to campus. "I need a computer!" They go to the campus store, and mom and dad see Apple computers for the first time. The staff can talk to them, demonstrate the Apple, let them touch it. Be told, "Sure you can run Windows programs. Bootcamp and VMs from Parallels or VMWare. Let me demonstrate....". And, they can walk out with a  computer immediately. You can't do that with Dell. Mom and Dad might even buy one. 

  • Reply 9 of 69
    snovasnova Posts: 1,281member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by waldobushman View Post

     
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by jungmark View Post





    Really? What pct of Apple sales to students come from these college stores?

    It doesn't matter. Until relatively recently, the idea of buying an Apple was considered a stupid move. Dell was the default on the campuses I'm familiar with. What happens during orientation when mom and dad accompany their freshman to campus. "I need a computer!" They go to the campus store, and mom and dad see Apple computers for the first time. The staff can talk to them, demonstrate the Apple, let them touch it. Be told, "Sure you can run Windows programs. Bootcamp and VMs from Parallels or VMWare. Let me demonstrate....". And, they can walk out with a  computer immediately. You can't do that with Dell. Mom and Dad might even buy one. 


    even when Apple was in the toilet, you could buy a Mac at my campus store but not a Dell.   The question may not be, "what's up with Apple?", but "what's with campus stores in Canada"?

  • Reply 10 of 69
    konqerrorkonqerror Posts: 685member

    See no issue here. A: People don't buy computers when they get on campus, they buy computers before they leave home. B:You can get the same educational price for computers in person at an Apple Store, via Personal Pickup or online. In fact, those are better locations since campus stores seem to stock a limited number of configurations anyway. Back in the day, they'd open the box and add CD drives, RAM, AV cards, etc. They can't now, which means a greater inventory cost. And, C:, the stores sell accessories, iPads and Apple TV at the full retail price anyway, only computers are discounted.

  • Reply 11 of 69
    mstonemstone Posts: 11,510member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by thetorrey View Post

     
    I don't see a problem with closing these stores if sales from them are declining.  The article clearly states that students, etc. are turning to the Apple store and retail chains for their purchases. 


    I did a few numbers and as it turns out Apple stores in Canada serve about a million people each if you divide the entire population by the number of stores. This is almost the exact same ratio as the US. I also looked at the locations of the most well known colleges in Canada and compared that to a list of the 29 Apple stores in Canada. There were a few colleges not represented in the cities that Apples serves but for the most part it turns out that Canadian colleges are in the same places that Apples stores are, so it is no wonder that students prefer a real Apple store with every product verses a small campus store with limited inventory, limited hours of operation and no genius bar.

  • Reply 12 of 69
    zoffdinozoffdino Posts: 192member
    Quote:

    Originally Posted by waldobushman View Post



    Very short sighted on the part of Apple. Apple technology in campus stores has made Apple computers the default for students and faculty. Dell, the previous darling on campuses, has not had campus sales for quite some time.



    Apple is clearly being run with only immediate profits the driving force. If Apple continues this trend, it is dead, and there won't be another Steve Jobs coming along to save their asses.

     

    50% of my class had a Mac laptop—it was a business program, 4 years ago. There's an Apple Store 10 minutes walk away in one of the busiest malls in town. Why do I need to visit the campus store with only 3 Macs on display?

  • Reply 13 of 69
    snovasnova Posts: 1,281member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by konqerror View Post

     

    See no issue here. A: People don't buy computers when they get on campus, they buy computers before they leave home. B:You can get the same educational price for computers in person at an Apple Store, via Personal Pickup or online. In fact, those are better locations since campus stores seem to stock a limited number of configurations anyway. Back in the day, they'd open the box and add CD drives, RAM, AV cards, etc. They can't now, which means a greater inventory cost. And, C:, the stores sell accessories, iPads and Apple TV at the full retail price anyway, only computers are discounted.


    not always true.. I know plenty of people who sent their kids away to school with a PC laptop in hand as freshman (as you state), only to replace them with Macs at the campus store when their PC laptop "died (whatever that means)" in the middle of the term.  <img class=" src="http://forums-files.appleinsider.com/images/smilies//lol.gif" /> 

  • Reply 14 of 69
    jungmarkjungmark Posts: 6,926member
    It doesn't matter. Until relatively recently, the idea of buying an Apple was considered a stupid move. Dell was the default on the campuses I'm familiar with. What happens during orientation when mom and dad accompany their freshman to campus. "I need a computer!" They go to the campus store, and mom and dad see Apple computers for the first time. The staff can talk to them, demonstrate the Apple, let them touch it. Be told, "Sure you can run Windows programs. Bootcamp and VMs from Parallels or VMWare. Let me demonstrate....". And, they can walk out with a  computer immediately. You can't do that with Dell. Mom and Dad might even buy one. 

    Lots of students have computers before they go to college. Lots of students decide to get a computer before they go to college if they didn't have one already.

    And by recently, do you mean 15 yrs ago?
  • Reply 15 of 69
    mstonemstone Posts: 11,510member
    Quote:

    Originally Posted by snova View Post

     
     I know plenty of people who sent their kids away to school with a PC laptop in hand as freshman (as you state), only to replace them with Macs at the campus store when their PC laptop died in the middle of the term.  


    Really? How many is plenty? Probably more likely they found out that all the fashionable people were using Macs so they accidentally on purpose killed their PC so they could buy a Mac. There are probably dozens of PC repair shops near campus that could easily have gotten the laptop back up and running in no time at all unless the students' parents gave them a 10 year old hand me down Win PC, in which case, your scenario might make sense. Otherwise, your claim of 'plenty' sounds suspicious.

  • Reply 16 of 69
    woochiferwoochifer Posts: 385member

    Back in the dark days when Apple did not have their own stores and Macs got shoved into the corner in favor of PCs at electronics stores, the campus stores were a lifeline for anyone who wanted to get a good fair demo of Apple products. With Apple opening their own stores and commanding more favorable placement at other retailers, students no longer lack for options to try out and buy Apple products.

     

    But, if the campus stores are indeed on the way out, I think the biggest force behind their demise is simply the decline of significant discounts on Apple products for students and staff. Apple still makes offers for academic purchases, but they are a lot more modest and also available online.  Going way back, the academic pricing for Macs used to feature huge discounts, and that drove traffic to the campus stores. Back in the Sculley era, I recall that a Mac SE carried a list price of $3,200 (1 MB RAM and dual floppy drives), while the academic price was less than $1,800. The academic prices even undercut the grey market mail order vendors, which indicates that the campus stores might have been selling for below the normal wholesale cost. 

     

    Today, a Macbook Pro starts at $1,200, and an iMac starts at $1,300.  The academic discount ranges from $50 to $200.  For perspective, if you inflation adjust that ~$1,800 Mac SE, it would cost over $3,700 today.  So, obviously the products are more affordable to begin with.  But, it also illustrates how the campus stores no longer undercut other vendors by a huge margin.  Any discounts and offers are also available through Apple by mail order or in-store pickup.

     

    The campus stores were a bright spot during a dismal period in Apple's history, so it is sad to see them going by the wayside, as their role is no longer as vital and Apple is no longer the struggling underdog.

  • Reply 17 of 69
    konqerrorkonqerror Posts: 685member
    Quote:

    Originally Posted by Woochifer View Post

     

    So, obviously the products are more affordable to begin with.  But, it also illustrates how the campus stores no longer undercut other vendors by a huge margin.  Any discounts and offers are also available through Apple by mail order or in-store pickup.


     

    One benefit is that in certain US states, you don't have to pay sales tax for campus bookstore purchases.

  • Reply 18 of 69
    juiljuil Posts: 75member

    Not sad at all... my local University coop-store hardly ever had inventory, so the Future Shop was (now is) the default (admittedly I don’t qualify for student pricing anymore, but I live close by the campus).

     

    Also, the coffee shops neighbouring the campus have absurd amounts of students toting Macs (like 75 % of them or something). So if the sale numbers of the coop store are low, it’s definitely worthless to give them the customer trafic given that they sell other manufacturers as well (students are obviously getting their Macs somewhere else if that is the case).

  • Reply 19 of 69
    dewmedewme Posts: 5,312member

    I'm much more upset that American higher education students no longer have Authorized Canadian Bacon stores on their campuses. It's just not right if you ask me. 

     

    Seriously, is there any topic, no matter how infinitesimally small and inconsequential, that has "Apple" associated with it, no matter how remote, that does not lead to the immediate conclusion that "Apple is Doomed?" Anyone have any insider information into the portion sizes of the entrees in the Apple main campus cafeteria? A 2.3 gram reduction in the average grilled chicken breast weight may, you know, be an undeniable sign of impending doom. You never know!

  • Reply 20 of 69
    snovasnova Posts: 1,281member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by mstone View Post

     
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by snova View Post

     
     I know plenty of people who sent their kids away to school with a PC laptop in hand as freshman (as you state), only to replace them with Macs at the campus store when their PC laptop died in the middle of the term.  


    Really? How many is plenty? Probably more likely they found out that all the fashionable people were using Macs so they accidentally on purpose killed their PC so they could buy a Mac. There are probably dozens of PC repair shops near campus that could easily have gotten the laptop back up and running in no time at all unless the students' parents gave them a 10 year old hand me down Win PC, in which case, your scenario might make sense. Otherwise, your claim of 'plenty' sounds suspicious.


    my daughter reports that 4 of her friends replaced their PC laptops that they brought with them to school with MacBooks while away at college. statistically speaking its "plenty".

    Did you want names and phone numbers?

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