Filling in a gap in mid-west coverage, Apple has plans to open a store inside the Jefferson Pointe mall in Fort Wayne (Ind.) during 2007. The outdoor, lifestyle center will not only serve northeastern Indiana, northwestern Ohio and southern Michigan. [Thanks to all for the geography lesson!]
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Hooray! Finally, a much needed Apple store in Fort Wayne! I’ve written countless letters asking why it hasn’t happened before now. I hope they have enough foresight to establish a good size store, not one of the economy models. When Best Buy moved into Fort Wayne, they grossly misjudged the potential in this area and opened only one small store. It didn’t take long for them to realize their mistake and they relocated to a new large concept store and later built a second store on the S.W. side near Jefferson Pointe
While I’m happy that Apple is making commitments to many new cities with their continued expansion program, I am disturbed by the trend to continue locating new stores in suburban outdoor “lifestyle” centers and traditional malls. They could be making a huge effort towards reinvigorated existing downtowns by placing their stores in established urban areas that are in many cases experiencing a loss of retailers. Apple followers will go wherever they set up shop and often there are great historic buildings just waiting for a great tenant and an Apple makeover. What a real difference Apple could make if it prioritized historic preservation and urban renewal.
Having an Apple Store in Fort Wayne is a long-overdue addition to the non-megacity midwest market. As one of the nation’s largest retail & restaurant test markets, Fort Wayne (a city of about 300,000 people) is in an excellent demographic and geographic position for an Apple Store.
An Apple Store in Fort Wayne is a great achivement. Now Mac user around the area will not have to drive all the way to Indy or Michigan to go to an Apple Store. People who live in Ft. Wayne can also now have a local place to get more of a “Hands-On” approach for Mac Help. Thanks Apple.
This is good news and I am also surprised it took so long to establish. I do agree with Jose about location.
Does anyone know when construction will begin or where in the complex the store will be located? Can’t wait.
Good news, indeed. But I wish Apple was as visionary in their decision of location as they are with their products. Jefferson Pointe?! Pretty conventional, no? Why not locate downtown and pioneer revitalization?
What about South Bend!? You know people in Indiana don’t like to travel from one mid-sized-mediocre-city-that-almost-has-it-all to another. And… There are like 14 colleges in the area. Plus Notre Dame football season traffic. Fart Wayne is good location, but it is still a long drive from South Bend. And Apple wont place a store in a downtown location unless there are other iconic landmarks that they can potentially make look bad by killing every revolutionary architectural effort that someone previously had. (feel free to dissect that sentence and re-arrange the words in a much less poetic order if that was awkward)
Apple Exfart has a valid point. Apple does need to expand into northern Indiana and increase it’s profits, but as for South Bend, they are close enough to Chicago. Ft. Wayne is much less ghetto and will make Apple a larger profit.
Signature Mac, Fort Wayne’s only Apple Specialist, Apple Authorized Service Provider, and Apple Premiere Reseller will open a 5,000 sq ft. retail store on Coliseum Blvd. next to Aaron’s. It will be just a few doors down from Guitar Center.
Apple Expert:
There is also an Apple Store in Grand Rapids, MI, which is around 107 miles away and a 1 hour, 52 minute drive according to MapQuest. Or you could go to Chicago which is about 87 miles away, but a long drive. And you could always go to Indy in a rather timely fashion. Fort Wayne is too far from Chicago and Grand Rapids. Also Fort Wayne serves a much larger population than South Bend/Mishawaka. Now people in South Bend can make a short 80 mile or so trip to Fort Wayne and check out the few things it has that South Bend doesn’t. Eat at Biaggi’s or Eddie Merlot’s. See a movie at the Rave, because in my opinion, South Bend does not have a very good movie theatre. I personally live in Ligonier, which is smack-dab in the middle of Fort Wayne and South Bend. When I went to purchase my MacBook I hadn’t been to Grand Rapids in a while so I went there instead of Indy, which was a big mistake. As soon as a I crossed the Michigan line the roads turned to crap and it started snowing. I counted 27 cars that slid off the road on the way up. The road conditions were dreadful. I am very pleased that they are opening a store in Fort Wayne. Let’s just wait and see how long it takes to open.
Bob:
Where did you hear this from? I google “Apple Store coming to Fort Wayne” and this is the only site that is relevant to my query. Not that I doubt you, just wondering. Isn’t it odd for Apple to not go to a mall location? It would make more sense to open a store inside Glenbrook. And it would be harder to access if it is a freestanding building on Coliseum.
Fort Wayne is a city that companies use for testing how retail, services, etc. go over, (i.e. Verizon FiOS, Biaggi’s first location, Eddie Merlot’s first location, Best Buy prototype store, etc.) And I do remember hearing something on the news the other day now that I think about it about an Apple Store on Coliseum Blvd.