Wheels in motion for first Australian Apple stores

Posted:
in General Discussion edited January 2014
More than two years after conception, Apple is reported to have finally got the ball rolling on a series of retail stores destined for the land of Oz.



According to a report in the Sydney Morning Herald, the Cupertino-based Mac maker is putting the finishing touches on a plan to build its first official retail outlets in Australia, with at least one set for Sydney.



"We have submitted concepts for the store we'd like to build in Sydney and are working with the city to gain their approval," Apple spokesman John Marx told the paper.



It is not clear where Apple's Sydney store would be located, according to the Herald, but a report in a Melbourne newspaper on Tuesday said Apple had leased space in a "multi-level retail centre being developed at a former Westpac site on the corner of George and King streets".



A storefront in the city of Melbourne is likely to follow, according to the report.



The findings echo those of a January 2005 AppleInsider report, which similarly pegged Apple's initial foray into the Australian retail scene to begin with a location in Sydney, followed by one in Melbourne.



In recent years, Apple retail presence in Australia has been buoyed through partnerships with David Jones andMyer retail stores.
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Comments

  • Reply 1 of 27
    irelandireland Posts: 17,798member
    There's no denying Apple's retail shops work, they make money (a lot) and they provide a service (a great one).. but boy oh boy is their retail strategy outside the US and the UK a slow one. They opened their first retail Apple store in 2001 and it was an immediate success, and yet still in Febuary 2007 the only counrty in the whole of Europe that has a store is England, I just sit and think about that sometimes, and I just kind of think; that makes no sense at all.
  • Reply 2 of 27
    about bloody time!!!!!!!!



    the little "next byte" and "mac center" shops are just useless when it comes to quality consumer information,

    but the staff know how to read the back of packages and then give you expert advice
  • Reply 3 of 27
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by iconsumer View Post


    about bloody time!!!!!!!!



    the little "next byte" and "mac center" shops are just useless when it comes to quality consumer information,

    but the staff know how to read the back of packages and then give you expert advice



    Oh yeah... I'll second that!
  • Reply 4 of 27
    I think NextByte and the various former "AppleCentres" (the right to trade using that name has now been withdrawn because of Apple Australia's foray into retailing) are better than you give them credit for. They often have very enthusiastic, true Mac fans on the staff.



    What they do lack is the resources: having demo stock on hand to show every product in the Apple arsenal. (I went about 12 months before even seeing an Apple 30" display.) It's often hard to compare products when they only have a sampling to show, and accessories are similarly limited.



    For example, I've found very few places in Sydney where you could just walk in and play around with Aperture on a demo machine, or buy a TuneTalk, or the latest EyeTV, or see everything in the lineup from mini to a Mac Pro. And many smaller stores (Domayne is the worst) keep obsolete products around, and still promote them when brand new ones should be sitting on the shelves (the PowerPC to Intel transition comes to mind: they were still selling iBooks long after the MacBook was out).



    And when you are ready to buy a new Mac, it's very annoying to get the "sometime next week" delay because the store keeps little stock on hand and has to order it from Frenchs Forest. One of the big successes of the US and UK Apple Stores is the immediate gratification angle.



    These are all things a flagship Apple run store could provide, but the independent stores should still flourish, simply because they cover areas which one or two big Apple Stores will not.
  • Reply 5 of 27
    hey guys, i work for city council. The first Apple Store in OZ has just been approved and will occupy the bottom 3 floors of new 77 King st refub cnr George st.

    heres some plans/renders











    side view. (3m neon apple shown hanging)







    NEW render showing atrium and neon apple.



  • Reply 6 of 27
    irelandireland Posts: 17,798member
    Sweet!
  • Reply 7 of 27
    I think maybe some people are underestimating the current "Apple Stores". To be honest, I was surprised to read this article, having bought my iMac from what I thought was an Apple Store, in Joondalup in Western Australia. The shop only sells Apple products, and seems very up-to-date. Clearly, being the most isolated city in the world, we have to wait a while for new products after they're announced, but the staff where I bought it were very enthusiastic and very knowledgeable. There's no way I'd ever buy something so precious and knowledge-specific from somewhere like Myer, who have only one goal in mind, and I'd happily support Apple stores like these given such good service. I hope that if we do get a "proper" Apple store in Perth, that either they can coexist happily with the existing stores, or that stores like the Joondalup one who have done the brand a good service in the past are given first dibs on the running of the new store.



    cheers,

    Ian
  • Reply 8 of 27
    sunilramansunilraman Posts: 8,133member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by iconsumer View Post


    about bloody time!!!!!!!!

    the little "next byte" and "mac center" shops are just useless when it comes to quality consumer information,

    but the staff know how to read the back of packages and then give you expert advice



    LOL scathing but not without a pound of truth.
  • Reply 9 of 27
    sunilramansunilraman Posts: 8,133member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by CULWULLA View Post


    hey guys, i work for city council. The first Apple Store in OZ has just been approved and will occupy the bottom 3 floors of new 77 King st refub cnr George st.

    heres some plans/renders....



    Superb Thanks.
  • Reply 10 of 27
    sunilramansunilraman Posts: 8,133member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by michaelb View Post


    .... the various former "AppleCentres" (the right to trade using that name has now been withdrawn because of Apple Australia's foray into retailing) ...



    Are you sure "AppleCentres" will be withdrawn? They have a huge network across Australia using that name.

  • Reply 11 of 27
    sunilramansunilraman Posts: 8,133member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by bobsmells View Post


    I think maybe some people are underestimating the current "Apple Stores". To be honest, I was surprised to read this article, having bought my iMac from what I thought was an Apple Store, in Joondalup in Western Australia. The shop only sells Apple products, and seems very up-to-date. Clearly, being the most isolated city in the world, we have to wait a while for new products after they're announced, but the staff where I bought it were very enthusiastic and very knowledgeable. There's no way I'd ever buy something so precious and knowledge-specific from somewhere like Myer, who have only one goal in mind, and I'd happily support Apple stores like these given such good service. I hope that if we do get a "proper" Apple store in Perth, that either they can coexist happily with the existing stores, or that stores like the Joondalup one who have done the brand a good service in the past are given first dibs on the running of the new store.



    cheers,

    Ian



    Yeah, I think the experience varies for different resellers. Some have been excellent, some have been not so good, some have been well-stocked and informed but crafty and "pushy", one has been very good to replace my LCD despite several screws missing in my MacBook from a previous uppercase replacement.



    To be honest, Apple has come a long way in the reseller scene. There are now many channels - boutique Apple places to AppleCentres to NextByte network to Streetwise.com.au to ePowermac.com.au to Myer & DavidJones, and now, Apple official.



    Generally I have found demo stock to be quite good and accessory and software stocking to be reasonable in various Apple resellers in Sydney and Melbourne in the past 4 years.
  • Reply 12 of 27
    bageljoeybageljoey Posts: 2,004member
    I hate to parade my ignorance (again) but while I am glad that they are getting a fancy store down under, I am most curious about the term "OZ"



    Is that a common way to refer to Australia? Is it local or how outsiders refer to the country/continent. Is it a reference to The Wizard of Oz book?
  • Reply 13 of 27
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Bageljoey View Post


    I hate to parade my ignorance (again) but while I am glad that they are getting a fancy store down under, I am most curious about the term "OZ"



    Is that a common way to refer to Australia? Is it local or how outsiders refer to the country/continent. Is it a reference to The Wizard of Oz book?



    Well, Australians are called Aussies (pronounced Ozzies), so I guess it comes from that. I believe the nickname for Sydney is the emerald city.
  • Reply 14 of 27
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Bageljoey View Post


    I hate to parade my ignorance (again) but while I am glad that they are getting a fancy store down under, I am most curious about the term "OZ"



    Is that a common way to refer to Australia? Is it local or how outsiders refer to the country/continent. Is it a reference to The Wizard of Oz book?



    It's a common way to refer to Australia in the UK. Although I would have assumed the logical spelling to be Aus (pronounced 'ozz'), following Aussie (pronounced 'ozz-EE'). Who knows?
  • Reply 15 of 27
    Yes Aus is common way to refer to/shorten Australia (we like to abbreviate just about everything, often to nothing more than a grunt). Every second business, government department etc is called Aus-something. (Austrade, Ausmusic etc). It's usually only Americans who think it's spelled Oz, which is probably just a bit of phonetic confusion, but it does provide a cute "magical wonderland" angle that appeals to the Australian ego and self image. The Oz spelling is used occassionally here, such as with the ISP Ozemail. There's no specific Wizard of Oz connection...we have no cowardly lions roaming the bush for instance, though our current Prime Minister is arguably based on a blend of the Tin Man and Scarecrow characters (no heart, no brain).



    Sydney is occassionally referred to as the Emerald City, thanks to the David Williamson play of that name I believe (written around the time he relocated from Melbourne to Sydney and confronted the comparatively vacuous and superficial culture of the place). Some of it's other nicknames are Sin City, Superficial Sydney, and The Glittering Tart. We Melburnians love to bag Sydney due to our weird inferiority complex, and are quite sensitive about our nickname, Bleak City.



    As for NextByte etc, there are some good people working there, but the problem is they're all quite small (the stores, not the workers) and understaffed. I've walked out after waiting too long to be attended to several times from those places...which is annoying when all you want is a mouse or the new iLife or whatever, and there's nowhere else to go.



    Do we have any idea where the Melbourne store might appear? CBD or perhaps somewhere more scenic like docklands/Vic Harbour?
  • Reply 16 of 27
    sunilramansunilraman Posts: 8,133member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by jasondotcom View Post


    ....There's no specific Wizard of Oz connection...we have no cowardly lions roaming the bush for instance, though our current Prime Minister is arguably based on a blend of the Tin Man and Scarecrow characters (no heart, no brain)....



    ROFLMAO That's awesome.



    Quote:
    Originally Posted by jasondotcom View Post


    ...We Melburnians love to bag Sydney due to our weird inferiority complex, and are quite sensitive about our nickname, Bleak City...



    I'm not touching this with a six-foot-pole. I lived in Brisbane for 4 years, Sydney for 2 years, Melbourne for 1.5 years over the course of 1995-2006. One or more of these cities (not Sydney) I think, had the wonderful accolade that it was "the most livable"... woooo. Brisbane has had to blatantly reference itself as Bris-[Las]-Vegas ["BrisVegas"] to counter its notable tiny, boring image. Melbourne and Sydney, boy, that's a thread that Australians would go on an on about for pages and pages. Luckily only a few aussies dot these here AppleInsider lands.



    Quote:
    Originally Posted by jasondotcom View Post


    Do we have any idea where the Melbourne store might appear? CBD or perhaps somewhere more scenic like docklands/Vic Harbour?



    Nah, I think Docklands and St.Kilda Road is a bit to "newish/corporate upmarket". Apple would be mad not to put it in the CBD. I dunno - Swanston, Bourke Streets? Near Myer, GPO, or NikeTown, etc. that sort of thing. Consumer crowd, not the business types on Collins or what not.



    And for all the size and mad crowds at Chadstone Shopping, can you imagine how bloody tiny the Apple shop is there? Alarming and disturbing.
  • Reply 17 of 27
    pyrixpyrix Posts: 264member
    WOOTzor finally we have some real Apple Stores. Now for one in brisbane.



    Though Nextbyte is a good apple reseller - their tech support is awesome, at least from where I brought my ipod from. I put it through the wash and they replaced it under warranty, no questions asked.
  • Reply 18 of 27
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by pyriX View Post


    ...Now for one in brisbane...



    Maybe in 2010.
  • Reply 19 of 27
    pyrixpyrix Posts: 264member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by sunilraman View Post


    Maybe in 2010.



    NNNNNNNNNNNOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!



    And only Melbourne or Sydney residents would argue about which was better i thunk, no one else really cares - Though it is of course Melbourne (I have friends there that would castrate me if I said anything else )



    But Brisbane beats both of them by far



    Anyone wanna guess where i live?
  • Reply 20 of 27
    8) Heh...... Oh by the way "quantum" should be spelt as such instead of how it is in your signature.

    Clearly you live in Queensland, your brain fried by all the sun and warm weather... and having nothing to do.
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