After an extended four-year courtship, Apple has finalized plans—for a second time—to open a store at the Promenade at Chenal mall in Little Rock (Ark.). Job listings for the future store were posted last week, indicating an October grand opening. The first tips about a store at Chenal came in May 2007, a year before the mall opened, when a tenant list was posted on-line that included “Apple.” That same November Apple filed for a building permit, and job listings were posted in January 2008. But all activity ceased after that, and it appeared the store project was dead. Finally, in October 2010 local reporters learned the project had been revived, leading to last week’s job listings. The city of about 190,000 sits in the middle of one of four Apple store black-out zones in the United States that runs from the Gulf to southern Missouri.
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What a waste! Apple should have placed the store in northwest AR where the money is. Little Rock? Seriously Apple?
You’re kidding, right? LR is the state capital, and where most of the population is — though I agree that a store near the college in Fayetteville is an obvious “next one to open”.
What a waste!
Apple should have placed the store in northwest AR where the money is! Little Rock?
Seriously Apple?
I have seen this written on several sites, and it seems the answer is obvious.
Fayetteville and Ft. Smith are both less than two hours from the Tulsa Apple Store.
So, demographically, no matter how bad you want one in your neighborhood, it makes more sense to
have an Apple Store in the Little Rock, Pine Bluff, Conway, Jacksonville, Hot Springs area than in NW AR.
This also makes it more accessible to Jonesboro and Texarkana.
Texarkana yes, Jonesboro…not so much.
This is an April Fools joke right?
Man, I don’t get the opposition to a store in LR. Apple has already covered the major and even secondary cities and is filling in the gaps. If the goal is to spread Macs everywhere, then LR is a good choice.
I am from and grew up in the LR area AND lived and attended school in NW Arkansas AND still have family in both places. Yes, both have grown dramatically in the past 15 years, more noticeably in NW Arkansas due to retail giant Wal-Mart. Yes, there is money in both areas. However, with the exception of the Fayetteville/University community, the vast majority of residents in NW Arkansas are dramatically conservative (statistical fact that Mac users are more educated) and a very, very large percentage are economically depressed. The “real” market for Apple products is simply smaller in NW Arkansas than LR. Also, central Arkansas includes far more than LR, extending out to Cabot, NLR, Jacksonville, and Conway. Many, many people commute to LR for work. Finally, LR is slowing becoming a vibrant multicultural and progressive community (yes, I know it can’t compare to a S.F. but considering where it was 20 years ago…) with residents from many Asian and Latin-American countries, and the notable presence of the Clinton Library and Heifer International.
i have yet to meet a student from the university of arkansas who was even remotely interested in computers, or education for that matter….and the shmucks following jobs into the isolated woodlands of bentonville couldnt be that much more interested in apple products either.
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