Apple Store in former Clery's premises?

Bob24

Eugene Norman wrote: »

I don't get 2. There are Apple stores in Bristol and Bath and Belfast. 2 in Bristol in fact.

And Cambridge. Lots more smaller than Dublin.


http://www.apple.com/uk/retail/storelist/

Thing is Apple doesn't tend to establish a physical retail organisation in a country if they don't think they either have potential for a couple or stores (or if it is just one or 2 stores, it has to be very high profile ones).

The small UK stores are there because their are part of an existing and larger UK retail structure.

Not sure the ROI as a whole is a large enough market for them to be interested.

Grab All Association

Type 17 wrote: »

Well, Ireland is Apple's EU HQ country, and is where they pay tax. So, if anything, they would be more likely to have Apple Retail Stores here (they have one at Cupertino, their world HQ).
If towns in the UK as small as Norwich (pop. 140k) and Exeter (pop. 125k) can have Apple Retail Stores, then we should have perhaps three or four in the RoI (or at least more than none).
The only difference in the UK is that it is not Apple's EU tax-base...

I'm not joking. Last year the people of Nenagh thought an Apple store was opening at the old O'Connor's site.

whiterebel

Grab All Association wrote: »

I'm not joking. Last year the people of Nenagh thought an Apple store was opening at the old O'Connor's site.

Michael Lowry told them he was going to get Apple into Tipp......right beside the super casino......:)

murpho999

Bob24 wrote: »

Thing is Apple doesn't tend to establish a physical retail organisation in a country if they don't think they either have potential for a couple or stores (or if it is just one or 2 stores, it has to be very high profile ones).

The small UK stores are there because their are part of an existing and larger UK retail structure.

Not sure the ROI as a whole is a large enough market for them to be interested.

There is only one in Belgium.

I don't see what they can't have one in Dublin and another in Cork.

Bob24

murpho999 wrote: »

There is only one in Belgium.

I don't see what they can't have one in Dublin and another in Cork.

This is because it only opened recently and they will obviously open more. Belgium is a market almost 3 times the one of Ireland.

Realistically on 2 cites are possible large enough for an Apple Store in Ireland and none of them is super high profile. If you set the bar at a city like Cork, you can easily find 5 locations in Belgium.

murpho999

Bob24 wrote: »

This is because it only opened recently and they will obviously open more. Belgium is a market almost 3 times the one of Ireland.

Realistically on 2 cites are possible large enough for an Apple Store in Ireland and none of them is super high profile. If you set the bar at a city like Cork, you can easily find 5 locations in Belgium.

I don't think this population thing is fully correct.

Look at Australia. Population of approx 24 million but has 23 stores.

Netherlands. 17 Million but only has 3 stores.

Ireland could easily support one store, and saying stuff like it's too small or doesn't count is just running down the country to be honest.

Grab All Association

whiterebel wrote: »

Michael Lowry told them he was going to get Apple into Tipp......right beside the super casino......:)

It was Alan Kelly who's a much bigger gombeen

The people of Nenagh were fully convinced it would be Apple. Turned out to be a Mr. Price store.

Bob24

murpho999 wrote: »

I don't think this population thing is fully correct.

Look at Australia. Population of approx 24 million but has 23 stores.

Netherlands. 17 Million but only has 3 stores.

Ireland could easily support one store, and saying stuff like it's too small or doesn't count is just running down the country to be honest.

Well - the fact is no country the size of Ireland has retail presence. I don't think it is running down the country to be saying that, just pragmatism. Apple's retail footprint is very limited (only 18 countries/territories) and from an Apple exec's perspective there are many other places where it makes more business sense to open stores before thinking of Ireland.

Sad Professor

As I said in the Mac forum, Apple almost certainly weigh up the size of the market against how much market share they stand to gain by opening a store in a country. Which is where Ireland is disadvantaged. Not only are we small, but Apple products are already extremely popular here and fairly well served by Apple resellers. They could give Irish users a better customer experience by opening a store here, but they are unlikely to increase their presence in the country significantly. They'll get around to us eventually, but most of their focus right now is on Asia where they have the most to gain.

Why do Apple go country-by-country, why does the first store have to be a flagship store in the best location possible, why don't they just slot a store in anywhere? Because they are Apple and they have their own way of doing things. I mean, look how they develop software: moving the same small group of engineers around, resulting in "drive-by updates" followed by years of bugginess and neglect. Look at how their organisational structures is great for developing new hardware products but terrible for cloud services. Apple don't always make sense.

godtabh

Sad Professor wrote: »

Apple don't always make sense.

They dont need too. They have a business model that works. Online amateur MBA's are constantly trying to figure it out. Competitors are constantly trying to figure it out. Thats why Apple are where they are. No one has.

They have power over their entire supply chain and their supply chain works brilliantly

Snickers Man

Doodah7 wrote: »

Reports in the Time and Indo today that the vultures who closed Clery's are attempting to get Apple to open a store on O'Connell Street. Would be a great coup if they managed to make it happen...

http://www.irishtimes.com/business/retail-and-services/natrium-sets-sights-on-apple-store-in-clerys-building-1.2619976

Coming up to the second anniversary of this "announcement". Any sign of this appearing any time soon?

Or was it all bollox from the word go?

Grab All Association

Snickers Man wrote: »

Coming up to the second anniversary of this "announcement". Any sign of this appearing any time soon?

Or was it all bollox from the word go?

Nope and no Apple store in Nenagh either despite Alan Kelly voters optimism it would open.

Franz Von Peppercorn

For tax reasons....

naasrd

Was utter b from the start. A fake story used to generate interest in Clerys and side step away from what they had done to the workers. Some suckers swallowed it whole.

Snickers Man

naasrd wrote: »

Was utter b from the start. A fake story used to generate interest in Clerys and side step away from what they had done to the workers. Some suckers swallowed it whole.

That's what I thought (and think)

rabbitinlights

Franz Von Peppercorn wrote: »

For tax reasons....

I've heard this a few times and it kinda makes sense - when you order from Apple.ie, it ships from the UK so they seem adverse to having an Irish trading entity.

Intriguing.

whiterebel

rabbitinlights wrote: »

I've heard this a few times and it kinda makes sense - when you order from Apple.ie, it ships from the UK so they seem adverse to having an Irish trading entity.

Intriguing.

Might be more to do with lack of sales in Ireland. Could be that they ship out to the UK and back in to Ireland because they’ll get a better deal to do that rather than deliver a unit within Ireland. Might be something to do with a VAT free exemption for exports either, they need to send it out to bring it in to avoid VAT on import of raw materials. You really don’t know with Apple, they have the strangest thought processes at times. Buying from apple.com/ie is an Irish trading entity, isn’t it?

Creamy Goodness

all BTO iMacs come from cork. Apple have a weird process when it comes to shipping but when they can get a new phone from Shenzhen to the back arse of Mayo in three days I’m inclined to believe they know what they’re doing.