Apple opens first retail store in London, Ontario; hundreds queue for grand opening

“For months, 16-year-old Matt Chappelle heard the rumours, watched the store being built and waited,” Kelly Pedro reports for The London Free Press.

“But Saturday those months dwindled to hours, then seconds until Chappelle became the first customer to enter the new Apple store at Masonville Place,” Pedro reports. “Chappelle and his mother Denyse, were the first people in line, arriving at 5:20 a.m. to check out the new store that’s an Apple lover’s dream, with all the latest products available.”

Pedro reports, “About 300 people — some travelling from as far as Port Huron, Mich. — were waiting in line, wrapped around the second floor of the mall before the store opened at 10 am… The Masonville store is the tech-giant’s first in London, its tenth in Ontario and 23rd in Canada. ”

Read more in the full article here.

MacDailyNews Take: And not one free Bieber ticket anywhere on the premises.

Related articles:
Hundreds line up for Microsoft Store ‘grand opening’ – for free concert tickets (with video) – October 23, 2011
Microsoft opens 4th retail store near Apple’s on iPhone 4 day; lures people with free concert tix – June 24, 2010
Microsoft Retail Stores have to resort to free concert tickets to generate opening day crowds – October 30, 2009
Notes from Microsoft’s first retail store: ‘Cheap, disorganized, and poorly-located’ (with photo) – October 23, 2009

41 Comments

  1. We have 2 Apple stores in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. It’s nice to see other Canadian cities getting Apple stores. Perhaps 16 year old Matt Chappelle can get a job there, seeing he’s such a fan. I’d be thrilled to work for Apple at age 16.

      1. I work for WestWorld (Apple reseller) in Edmonton. We have a WestWorld in Victoria as well. Hopefully you still support the little guy 😉

        We’ve been in Edmonton for 34 years, so the Apple store doesn’t hurt us at all. More and more people are purchasing Apple products every day. Many people prefer the personal service that the smaller resellers offer along with the more relaxed atmosphere.

        Our Edmonton store is bigger than most Apple stores, but our Victoria store is very small. If you guys get an Apple store it will likely be in a mall.

    1. Look at the bright side, at least your 2nd Amendment rights aren’t infringed like they are in two asshole states on your borders: New York and Massachusetts.

      1. For hell sakes, can’t you find a political site? How can every single item bring out nutjobs like yoy. Do you really think this is the place for that shit? Grow up. Go away.

        1. MDN covers the gamut of topics, especially politics. And the closer to the election the worse it will get. Tough shit if you don’t like it.

        1. “Infringed”, the word is clearly understood by most people. I believe that you are mistakingly equating infringed with “ban” or “prohibited”. Liberals cannot ban or prohibit gun ownership, but they can make the processes of purchasing and owning firearms onerous and costly. One certainly argue if any restriction of gun ownership is a violation of the 2nd Amendment. That is all.

        2. You have to have a state permit to own a hand gun and you have to register any gun with the state. As for concealed carry you have “may issue”, which means it’s at their whim whether you can protect yourself, no matter who you are. And then there is New York City, with it’s piece of crap anti-gun mayor, who by the way doesn’t have to worry about protection considering he has armed body guards at taxpayer expense. That’s what I’m talking about bud.

    2. yea but remember, Vermont fought Walmart stores too. 🙂

      Then there is the wild moose in the Apple china shop syndrome. Lol

      Ps I am a native Vermonter so I get to kibitze. In Vermont we have two seasons: 9 months of winter, and 3 months of mighty poor sledding. 🙂

      1. Don’t forget mud season, Eldernorm. Actually, we had a rather large deer crash through the glass windows at Cumberland Farms in Barre the other day. And it’s true we’ve managed to keep WalMart superstores from leveling the countryside in some areas.

        Given how popular Apple tech is in VT, I’d think we could support more than just the 2 Small Dog Electronics stores. I see Macs, iPhones & iPads everywhere — even poorly funded nonprofits use them (wise investments). I was at a community justice center board meeting recently at which 3 out of 5 board members had iPads — including the secretary, who took the minutes on his.

  2. My brother Mickey was high in the UC clock tower and his friend Pumpkin was high in the Observatory building. (References for all UWO students of campus history.)

  3. Good folks at nearby Mostly Digital may be a tad nervous however, the good service Randy and the team offer out-of-province customers (not to mention no provincial sales tax) should play in their favour.

  4. The New York Times Sunday front page story says that Apple Store employees are the worst paid in America. This is true. If someone asks for a raise, they are let go and replaced by two or three pooly paid employees.

    1. The New York Times makes a point to spread half true and completely false rumors to smear and discredit Apple to sell newspapers. They are about as credible a source on Apple as the World Weekly News.

      Anyone who cites NYT or any source that links back to the NYT is suspect.

      Find a credible source next time you want to troll.

  5. Another Apple store in DCM RIMM’s backyard! It’s going to be impossible for RIMM employees to go to work without seeing the packs of people lining up to buy iPhones.

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