Apple Store a click away
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| Ben Adams (right) and other customers try out MacBook Pro computers on display at an Apple Store in the SoHo section of New York City. Apple Inc. has obtained a permit from the city of Tulsa for a $1 million renovation project at Woodland Hills Mall. |
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By ROBERT EVATT World Staff Writer
3/24/2007
Woodland Hills unconfirmed site for outlet
Apple Inc. won't confirm it, but mounting evidence indicates the purveyor of Mac computers and iPods seems set to open an Apple Store at Woodland Hills Mall.
Apple obtained a permit from the city of Tulsa for a $1 million renovation project at Woodland Hills earlier this month. Temporary wood paneling bearing the word "Apple" in large, bold-face letters has gone up over a space on the mall's first floor.
Additionally, Apple's own Web site has job listings for a manager, assistant manager and Mac specialists for a future Apple Store at Woodland Hills.
Even so, a representative of Apple who declined to be identified said the company is not yet ready to announce a Tulsa location.
John Pogue, president of the Tulsa Users of Macintosh Society, said fans of all things Apple are ecstatic about the prospect of a local store.
"You'll see people lined up around the corner the day it opens," he said.
Apple's computers, which have a dedicated following but vastly lower sales than Windows-based PCs, have been difficult to find in Tulsa, he said. CompUSA at 10111 E. 71st St. is the only major retailer that sells Apple computers in the area, although iPod music players are sold at many electronics stores.
Pogue said the new store would make it easier for local consumers to find Macs.
"This shows there's a lot of desire and demand for Apple products in this area," he said.
Despite the lack of official information from Apple, Pogue said he's confident that a store will arrive.
"Apple in general is a very secretive company," he said. "The iPhone had been in the works for three years, and it was just announced in January."
Tulsa's Apple Store would be the second in Oklahoma; the company operates a store at Penn Square in Oklahoma City.
Apple Stores offer the company's entire suite of products, including Apple-branded desktops and laptops, and the iPod family of digital music players.
The stores also feature the recently released Apple TV, a new device that streams video, pictures and music from Mac and PC computers to televisions. The iPhone, a cell phone that can play digital music, is set to arrive in June at Apple Stores and retail outlets for Cingular Wireless, which is being rebranded as AT&T Wireless.
Apple Stores also feature the Genius Bar, a space for free, on-site customer assistance for Apple products, as well as free workshops for Mac computers.
The stores themselves feature a minimalistic look, with only glass, stainless steel and wood elements. Newer stores lack a checkout counter, with employees conducting sales via wireless credit card readers.
Currently, Apple operates 174 Apple Stores worldwide.
An unofficial Web site dedicated to Apple Stores, ifoapplestore.com, estimates that Apple has plans for up to 55 additional stores worldwide in the near future.
Apple's chief financial officer, Peter Oppenheimer, said this month at the Morgan Stanley Technology Conference that the company would open as many as 40 stores this year. About 10 would be overseas, according to a report in Macworld magazine.
"In this last year, we've been investing in the stores, and I continue to see us wanting to do that to make them into a great place for customers," Oppenheimer said at the meeting, according to Macworld.
Outside the United States, Apple has retail stores in Canada, Great Britain and Japan. It reportedly is eyeing other countries for expansion.
Fortune magazine reported this month that Apple Stores log average sales of $4,032 per square foot each year, compared with $930 at Best Buy Co., the nation's largest consumer electronics retailer. Apple Stores average 13,800 visitors a week, with the company's total retail sales now at $1 billion per quarter, the magazine said.
Robert Evatt 581-8447
robert.evatt@tulsaworld.com
By ROBERT EVATT World Staff Writer
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