Apple to begin work on Montreal flagship this winter (photos)

Posted:
in General Discussion edited January 2014
Apple Inc., which plans to turn an existing Montreal storefront into Canada's first high-profile Apple flagship shop, will have to hold off renovation efforts until the current tenant vacates the premises later this fall.



The Cupertino-based Mac maker has secured a lease at 1321 Ste-Catherine Ouest in the heart of Montreal's shopping district, currently occupied by a MENS fashion retailer. Once MENS vacates the premises this November, Apple will begin to heavily alter the site, which it plans to turn into a two-story flagship retail store spanning some 9,300 square feet.



Among the planned renovations, as AppleInsider exclusively reported on Wednesday, are a new roof and stainless steel facade. Apple also plans to relocate some structural columns, raise the ground floor, and install a trademark glass staircase joining retail floors 1 and 2.



Photos of the existing MENS fashion retailer (below) show Apple to have chosen a location for its first Canadian flagship shop that is already reminiscent of some of its higher-profile stores, complete with a spacious interior and large window displays on both floors.



The site of Apple's future Motreal flagship retail store | Photo by Chris Erb



The site of Apple's future Motreal flagship retail store | Photo by Chris Erb



The site of Apple's future Motreal flagship retail store | Photo by Chris Erb
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Comments

  • Reply 1 of 31
    citycity Posts: 522member
    It doesn't look that big to me.
  • Reply 2 of 31
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by city View Post


    It doesn't look that big to me.



    if you look closely at the interior around the stairs, i think you might notice the space extends into the next building.
  • Reply 3 of 31
    if only you've been inside
  • Reply 4 of 31
    trevctrevc Posts: 77member
    Hopefully the tenants 'KNOW' they're leaving!? No closing out or moving signs.



    Maybe they know now.
  • Reply 5 of 31
    lafelafe Posts: 252member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by trevc View Post


    Hopefully the tenants 'KNOW' they're leaving!? No closing out or moving signs.



    Maybe they know now.



    Time to buy a suit at a discount.
  • Reply 6 of 31
    We're still waiting on an Apple store to arrive in Vancouver...common Apple, get with it.
  • Reply 7 of 31
    kasperkasper Posts: 941member, administrator
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by trevc View Post


    Hopefully the tenants 'KNOW' they're leaving!? No closing out or moving signs.



    Maybe they know now.



    The manager is aware. They have to be out in Nov.



    Best,



    K
  • Reply 8 of 31
    So the store "MENS" in these photos sells high end menswear with brands like Hugo Boss, Diesel, J. Lindberg (spelling?), etc. -- The owner of this store has two other stores (with different names) in the same vicinity:

    1) Hugo Boss (a franchise) on Crescent at Ste-Catherine; and

    2)Another store (name escapes me) on Peel near Sherbrooke (inbetween BMO "Bank of Montreal" and Mikasa Japanese Steakhouse/The Best Western... across the street from the prestigious MAA health club.



    Anyway, my guess is the clothing from the MENS location will be filtered into the two other locations which carry the same brands/have the same store clientele.



    Now... to the immediate left of MENS is TAG- a cigar shop. And to the right is Ogilvy's which caters to high end men and women as it recently (maybe two years ago) expanded its Louis Vuitton boutique. The windows of Ogilvy's from left to right showcase the beauty department, MAC cosmetics mini-boutique and Louis Vuitton's mini-boutique.



    This area garners a lot of foot traffic as you can imagine because it is on Ste-Catherine street which is already a street lined with stores for several blocks, but also it is at Crescent (street to the left in these photos)- which is heavily populated by tourists (there is a Hard Rock Cafe there).



    Apple definitely chose a dominant location for their Canadian flagship location. It's too bad I no longer live in Montreal\- but Toronto has an Apple store that suits my needs.
  • Reply 9 of 31
    citycity Posts: 522member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by pixeljump View Post


    So the store "MENS" in these photos sells high end menswear with brands like Hugo Boss, Diesel, J. Lindberg (spelling?), etc. -- The owner of this store has two other stores (with different names) in the same vicinity:

    1) Hugo Boss (a franchise) on Crescent at Ste-Catherine; and

    2)Another store (name escapes me) on Peel near Sherbrooke (inbetween BMO "Bank of Montreal" and Mikasa Japanese Steakhouse/The Best Western... across the street from the prestigious MAA health club.



    Anyway, my guess is the clothing from the MENS location will be filtered into the two other locations which carry the same brands/have the same store clientele.



    Now... to the immediate left of MENS is TAG- a cigar shop. And to the right is Ogilvy's which caters to high end men and women as it recently (maybe two years ago) expanded its Louis Vuitton boutique. The windows of Ogilvy's from left to right showcase the beauty department, MAC cosmetics mini-boutique and Louis Vuitton's mini-boutique.



    This area garners a lot of foot traffic as you can imagine because it is on Ste-Catherine street which is already a street lined with stores for several blocks, but also it is at Crescent (street to the left in these photos)- which is heavily populated by tourists (there is a Hard Rock Cafe there).



    Apple definitely chose a dominant location for their Canadian flagship location. It's too bad I no longer live in Montreal\- but Toronto has an Apple store that suits my needs.



    Looks conservative in size for a new "Flagship". Perhaps they should of taken the Hardrock Cafe spot.
  • Reply 10 of 31
    gigigigi Posts: 65member
    Hope they will improve the french experience. French is important for Quebec consumer.
  • Reply 11 of 31
    Any speculation as to why Apple chose Montreal instead of Toronto for it's Canadian Flagship?
  • Reply 12 of 31
    Lots of universities/colleges, other large tech firms (EA, Ubisoft, etc.), cheap real estate...
  • Reply 13 of 31
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by markenvoyage View Post


    Any speculation as to why Apple chose Montreal instead of Toronto for it's Canadian Flagship?



    Well I'm not sure how that's held-up over time, but historically, there always have been higher than average Mac usage in Quebec than elsewhere in North-America (not unlike the fact that we're one of the few places where there are more Pepsi drikers than Coke drinkers). It was arond 20% of the market in the mid 90's when the Mac had about 10% elsewhere...



    Choosing Montreal in that respect makes alot of sense... And yeah, there are ALOT of university students in that part of town which certainly makes alot of sense (much more than the oddball Laval store).



    I personally can't wait. It really is a great high-end spot to setup shop in, and as some have said, it's deceptively big inside (the facade doesn't do it justice).
  • Reply 14 of 31
    fawzifawzi Posts: 2member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by gigi View Post


    Hope they will improve the french experience. French is important for Quebec consumer.



    If the French AppleStore or the availability of french products on the refurb store on the Apple.ca site is any indication I wouldn't hope for too much...



    But lets wait and see...\
  • Reply 15 of 31
    sekiosekio Posts: 150member
    The store is much bigger than the pictures make it out to be. It's kinda dwarfed by the Ogilvy building and Ste-Catherine buildings tend to be very long from facade to back. It's definitely a good spot and they chose a good building to put a flagship store in.
  • Reply 16 of 31
    shaun, ukshaun, uk Posts: 1,050member
    It looks like a good size and location from the photo's.



    I went to Montreal and Toronto a few years ago and loved it. Great places to visit.
  • Reply 17 of 31
    As a Montrealer who actually lives downtown, I was able to visit the site above on my return walk from work, so I'll give you a true insider's perspective:



    The place is BIG. It's actually 2 1/2 floors, with the 1/2 floor being a short strip between the stairways leading from the top and bottom floors. Both full floors are very roomy, about 30-40 feet wide for the bottom floor, and maybe about 50-60 feet deep. The top floor isn't as wide, so maybe about 20-30 feet. It's much larger than the Apple store in Laval, which I saw last Saturday.



    I tried to picture the store with Apple merchandise instead of men's clothing. It seemed to be a very natural fit. Still, I have no idea what renovations Apple has in mind.



    I can't wait until this store is open. Among other things, I'll be able to see, first hand, new Apple products immediately (ex new iMac) instead of waiting a month for the non-Apple retailers to get them. Also, I'll be able to more easily shop for games for Mac (since the Apple store won't carry Windows games).



    P.S. I went to the Laval store this weekend, and it was a long trek even with somebody giving me a lift. The store is quite small, but still offers a great Apple experience. It's set up to entice impulse buying. I wanted to walk out with an Airport Extreme, but I held myself back
  • Reply 18 of 31
    bryandbryand Posts: 78member
    Any idea if Montreal has any other Apple stores? Toronto has three, I think, but they're not on this scale. Perhaps cheap real estate was a consideration, since Montreal's economy has been chronically depressed for the last thirty years. But high costs didn't stop Apple from building big stores in New York City, so hopefully they will bring a new "flagship" store to Canada's economic centre soon. There's about three times as many consumers and 5 times as much money in Toronto as Montreal, so it would be a smart move for Apple.
  • Reply 19 of 31
    I wonder how far away the closest strip club is from this store.....the street has a ton of them?
  • Reply 20 of 31
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by bryand View Post


    Any idea if Montreal has any other Apple stores? ...



    Nope, Montreal hasn't any Apple Store yet. Sure, you can point out Laval's one but you'll be wrong, Laval is far another city (and a way of life!).



    So, see you there at the "Grande Ouverture" guys
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