America: Zero chance for a new Apple Retail Store in your town

“For anyone who lives hundreds of miles away from an Apple retail store, and who hopes a store will open in their city, don’t hold your breath,” Gary Allen reports for Forbes.

“While Apple did make good on its promise to open ‘about 30’ Apple retail stores during fiscal 2013, just four of those stores opened within the United States,” Allen reports. “And significantly, none of those stores expanded the chain’s footprint, since they’re all within a 30-minute drive of an existing Apple store. ”

Allen reports, “Several other new stores were simply replacements for older stores, not expansions into new territory. In fact, the last new region to land an Apple store was Bakersfield (Calif.) in September 2012, and before that New Haven (Conn.) in September 2011. The slow growth of the chain in the U.S. means there are still significant black-out areas, including along the Gulf Coast from Tampa (Fla.) to New Orleans (La.), from San Francisco to Portland (Ore.), and within large sections of the midwest. ”

Read more in the full article here.

30 Comments

  1. Often, Apple will patiently wait for the right spot in the right shopping center to open up before it builds. In others, there is simply not a local shopping hub that demands enough market share to warrant a store. In a few rare cases, the cost of securing merchandise, shipments, and stores is too great a risk.

        1. Does massaging his Mommy’s feet and scraping her bunions count as a job? He does have to earn his rent for that basement apartment. I heard he hasn’t been out of that basement for two years because his 450 lb fat ass can’t make it up the stairs. That’s okay though, his Mommy brings his meals down to him. From what I heard, he only bathes once a week and his Mama has to was his backside for him because he can’t reach around. Rumor has it, he once talked to a girl for a whole five minutes, or was that his grandmother?

  2. At first the U.S. was spoiled as Apple concentrated on opening stores in the U.S. only. But Apple is a global company and everywhere outside the U.S. is where the real lack of Apple stores are most needed right now.

    I’m sure Bakersfield slogan of Fun, Sun, Stay, Play is what convinced Apple. 😉
    (I know, I know, those signs came down in 1983)

    1. I’m sure the next new Apple store will be in Stockton, CA. Their slogan is “Someplace Special”. The city is also bankrupt and the police department has taken out billboards saying they can’t protect your life and property.

      As for SF to Portland, there’s hardly a town above 50K population along the way, and towns are pretty few and far between. I used to drive from Portland to SF in the wee hours of Monday morning pretty regularly. I’d leave at midnight and arrive just in time for work. With a little prudent watchfulness one could maintain 100 mph+ most of the way. The largest town by far would be Redding, CA, and if you blink you’ll miss it.

    1. Buying is one thing, getting stuff repaired is a whole different ball of wax. Have you ever had to get a Mac Pro fixed. Those suckers are heavy, to ship them costs a small fortune…

      1. Ohh right! *sarcasm alert*
        i forgot! I think I’ll drive 385 miles (one way) to go to the Apple Store. Not exactly convenient for 90% of the land area in AK.
        (I and 120,000 Alaskans live in the Fairbanks area, oe farther north than that…)

  3. They are supposedly closing the Apple store here in Philly at 15th and Walnut and opening a new one in a totally remodeled building a few blocks away that Apple is taking the lead on remodeling. I saw drawings of it on Philly.com a few weeks ago – very sleek and modern with a lot of glass and chrome (surprise). No timeframe for opening yet.

  4. I live just south of Wichita, KS (Derby) and the closest Apple Store is 181 miles (Maps estimates the drive at 3H 7M turnpike fees) from my house in Tulsa OK. Our MSA population is 636,105 (2012 est) and another estimated 600,000 come to the Wichita metro area to do their bigger shopping and Doctor/Specialist appointments; using Wichita as their Main Street. Apple, come to Wichita! Not too many folks here will drive 6 1/2 hours round trip to Tulsa, OKC or KC to shop at an Apple store. Ripe for the pickings!

  5. State College, PA would be a great place for an Apple Store! Centrally located in the state with a huge student population.The next closest stores are at least two hours east or west in either Pittsburg or Lancaster.

  6. Makes sense. State College is located in the center of PA and a most traveled to college town. A few miles south of Interstate 80 (Manhattan to San Francisco). Penn State football gameday State College is the third largest city in PA counting visiting fans. A smaller footprint store in a colonial building on the main drag staffed by an endless supply of college grads.

    Or tpossibly he Scranton, Wilkes-Barre, Hazleton MSA corridor in NE PA. Probably too blue collar in the coal region for Apple.

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