Prague to host Apple's first retail presence in former Eastern Bloc - report
Apple will open a new store-within-a-store branch in the Czech capital later this week, according to a Monday report, marking Apple's first brick and mortar foray into Eastern European retail.
The shop -- which is said to be similar to Apple-staffed outlets inside Best Buy and Wal-Mart stores in the U.S. -- will be hosted by Czech electronics retailer Alza at the chain's Hole?ovice location. A ribbon cutting ceremony will take place on Friday at 8 p.m. local time, according to a media invitation published by Czech website letemsvetemapplem.eu.
Apple opened a Czech Republic branch of its online storefront in 2011, but the company has remained absent from physical retail operations in the Eastern European country. Until now, consumers have been forced to rely on a number of Apple authorized resellers and repair centers.
There is no word on whether Apple plans to expand its partnership with Alza to other locations around Prague or across the Czech Republic. The iPhone maker could also be considering an official first-party retail store under new retail chief Angela Ahrendts, whose former company Burberry has two such outlets in Prague, though no announcement has been made.
It is unlikely that any Apple executives will attend Friday's opening ceremony, though the proceeding will be hosted by Czech actor Martin Stransky. Stransky, who has dubbed a number of popular western entertainment programs for the Czech audience, was the voiceover artist selected to perform the Czech audiobook version of Walter Isaacson's official Steve Jobs biography.
The shop -- which is said to be similar to Apple-staffed outlets inside Best Buy and Wal-Mart stores in the U.S. -- will be hosted by Czech electronics retailer Alza at the chain's Hole?ovice location. A ribbon cutting ceremony will take place on Friday at 8 p.m. local time, according to a media invitation published by Czech website letemsvetemapplem.eu.
Apple opened a Czech Republic branch of its online storefront in 2011, but the company has remained absent from physical retail operations in the Eastern European country. Until now, consumers have been forced to rely on a number of Apple authorized resellers and repair centers.
There is no word on whether Apple plans to expand its partnership with Alza to other locations around Prague or across the Czech Republic. The iPhone maker could also be considering an official first-party retail store under new retail chief Angela Ahrendts, whose former company Burberry has two such outlets in Prague, though no announcement has been made.
It is unlikely that any Apple executives will attend Friday's opening ceremony, though the proceeding will be hosted by Czech actor Martin Stransky. Stransky, who has dubbed a number of popular western entertainment programs for the Czech audience, was the voiceover artist selected to perform the Czech audiobook version of Walter Isaacson's official Steve Jobs biography.
Comments
Since 2004 it is part of the European Union in case you missed that too.
'After 14 years of intense negotiations; McDonald's finally entered into the Soviet Union on January 31, 1990. This flagship store located in Moscow's Pushkin Square, was the world's largest McDonald's boasting of 28 cash registers and seating capacity for around 700 customers. The first day of McDonald's in Russia broke the record for inaugural sales in McDonald's history serving more than 30,000 customers on the first day itself. '
http://www.businesstoday-eg.com/case-studies/case-studies/mcdonalds-in-russia-defeated-communism-with-a-happy-meal.html
http://www.virtualnipraha.cz/admin/fs/obrazek/c267d60d99b40648.jpg
I don't understand why this is so big deal for Apple.
Czech Republic, Slovakia, Poland and many others... just another members of European Union. Members of NATO and still NO Apple Retail Store. What are they waiting for? Transatlantic Free Trade Area? This makes no sense. I really don't understand.
http://www.virtualnipraha.cz/admin/fs/obrazek/c267d60d99b40648.jpg
And if Russia keeps it up, it may be the first Apple retail store in the reconstituted Soviet Bloc.
You forgot that entire East Germany was one of the communist countries behind the Iron Curtain.
City of Dresden lies in the former Eastern Germany (DDR). So to be exact Apple Store in Dresden was the first in the former Eastern Block. The one in Prague will be the second.
The Czech Republic is a part of NATO and we've also got Slovakia and Poland as additional buffers beyond Ukraine. If Russia gets this far WWIII will have already started.
Pretty much every retailer's shop (Apple resellers) in Prague is staffed with people who apparently think Apple makes fashion items, they're not helping and most of the time they'd look at people with the 'you don't belong here' stare.
Authorized repairers live in a universe of their own and I suspect if good folks at Apple knew, the licence would be revoked sooner rather than later.
Sometimes they refuse to honor EU warranty, saying they can only honor Apple pruducts from the Czech distribution, whatever that is. So if you happen to be a German living in Prague, bad for you.
Speaking from experience, Alza is the only electronic retailer in Bohemia that actually behaves like a Western retailer when it comes to customer experience (including returns).
Disclaimers - I do not work Alza. I'm an expat living in Prague.
lol. Poor old Russia. Once wanted to be European. Now nobody in Europe likes them anymore. Even the former Soviet countries have turned on them.
What was that Eurovision song from Georgia that got banned..."We Don't Wanna Put In"...get it?
Anyway, strange angle for this article since the concept of "Eastern Bloc" ended a long time ago. Prague is closer to London than it is to Russia I'm pretty sure?
It's a member state of NATO.
Aaaaaaand then it collapsed. " src="http://forums-files.appleinsider.com/images/smilies//lol.gif" />
If by "former Eastern Bloc" you mean the former Communist countries aligned with the USSR prior to 1989, then I'm afraid your article is very much incorrect. I believe Apple's first retail presence in the former Eastern Bloc is their Apple store in Dresden, Germany, previously part of the Deutsche Demokratische Republik or DDR. While other Apple stores opened earlier in Germany, they were all in West Germany or Bundesrepublik Deutschland (BRD). Both were internationally recognized as separate countries until the German reunification; and I know for fact that the Dresden store was opened about two years before the one in Berlin.
...
Ok, that was pretty bad. I'll let myself out.
After visit the Czech Republic the last two summer, I can tell you that it is not an Eastern European country. It is Central European. Also, the Czechs don't like their country being referred to as being in Eastern Europe.
I've seen some Alza posters in the city that mentioned 'Apple shop' but I assumed it was just referring to their own section within the store. I thought any official Apple involvement would be titled 'Apple store' which seems to be the norm around the world, however this news seems to confirm it is indeed official. Perhaps it's due to the fact that it's a store within a store concept.
As another posted has stated, I hope the section within the store gets a serious revamp, it's a little small and insignificant currently, especially compared to the Samsung section for at the entrance. I'll check it out this weekend.