ifoAppleStore.com

Vancouver Opening Reveals Small Store

May 24th, 2008

The grand opening of the Pacific Centre (Vancouver) retail store today revealed that it does not meet the expectations of those hoping for Canada’s first street-level, multi-story retail outlet with a glass staircase. Instead, the public retail floor is just 25 feet wide and 30 feet deep, or just 750 square-feet, tucked inside a downtown shopping mall. There is a single, center-located row of product display tables, and a rear-located Genius Bar. The store did debut a new design feature: a small, back-lit Apple logo hangs from the ceiling at the front of the store, just outside the roll-down security grating. The logo design is based on the huge logo that’s part of the Fifth Avenue (NYC) glass cube design.

The rolling security gate is moving up for the grand opening. One person noted the store is a duplicate of the Bentall Centre (UK) retail store, which opened in February, 2007.

Pacific Centre store


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I was there. It’s true– it’s a disappointing store. The funny thing is that Vancouver seems to be a fairly strong Mac/Apple market. Several thousand people showed up with the line stretching almost two city blocks outside of the store. Either Apple doesn’t think highly of the location, or they’re planning to expand at some point. If they wanted to, they could add a second, lower floor that would have an entrance onto Granville Street. The empty facade there on Granville street next to the H&M looks like a prime spot for a large entrance.

The only other reason I can think that Apple wouldn’t want an almost-Flagship style store in Vancouver is that they already sell lots of product through third-party resellers (both owned by Best Buy IIRC). For example, why would I go all the way downtown when the local LD has plenty of the latest Apple stuff on prominent display? Still, if Vancouver is as I suspect a healthy Apple area the least we can get for our loyalty over the years as a region is a kick-ass store.

truant May 24, 2008 at 4:21 pm

Looks good, I’ll go and see it, but I’ll continue shopping at Simply Computing. Problem is the inconvenience of going all the way downtown and having to pay 8$ for parking. Not to mention how busy the apple store will be. If it would have had the added second floor i believe it would get alot more customers.

MacDruid May 24, 2008 at 5:11 pm

Hmm, if they open this similar type of store in Edmonton and Calgary, it would be okay, but… WestWorld Computers has better and bigger stores in Alberta. WestWorld provides great service, and orders an abundance of 3rd party hardware & software. They also service Apple Computers and provide classes. Good to have more Apple Stores but WestWorld will still prove to be a better Apple store. Stores like Best Buy only carry Apple Computers and iPods but they don’t carry any 3rd party products and their knowledge of Apple products proves to be very weak.

Luke Mula May 24, 2008 at 8:51 pm

If the third-party resellers are smart (and I think at least a few of them have been planning to compete with the Apple Store for some time), they can benefit from this new retail entry, especially because of its small size. Offering a wider variety of accessory products, add-ons when purchasing a Mac (free training or videos etc.), and specializing — for audio and video professionals or photographers, for instance — as stores like Tekserve in New York City do, could be a benefit.

It will be interesting to see what effect this has on the Mac market in Vancouver, and whether and when other Apple Stores might open. My guesses are appearances at other high-end malls (Park Royal, Oakridge), or perhaps a Yaletown street-level outlet.

Derek K. Miller May 24, 2008 at 9:41 pm

People are complaining about getting an Apple Store…wtf..

be lucky you have one…nothing in London Ontario

Betty Koyle May 25, 2008 at 7:41 am

It is guaranteed the West Edmonton Mall store will be bigger than this by far. The front is nearly 60 ft across and the mall runs 80 to 100 ft deep in this area. So it should be 7 to 8 times the size

Also Westworld had better improve its customer service as they have a bit of a bad rep in this area. The worst hit will be the mymacdealer off whyte ave. they have nice people but the selection of products is thin at best, Apple or third party.

John May 25, 2008 at 8:14 am

I wonder how long it will be until someone manages to steal the logo…

Nick May 25, 2008 at 11:28 am

25′ across I can buy, but it’s a heck of a lot more than 30′ deep.

truant may be right — I can’t see the Miss Sixty slated for the spot between the Apple Store and H&M going multi-story with a street entrance, and we don’t know what’s behind the monolithic wall behind the Genius Bar. With the construction on Granville St. (i.e. the giant hole in the ground that will be the Canada Line), Apple may have opted to get the store open, with plans to expand once the streetscape clears.

As for WestWorld: I’ve never been impressed with them. On the other hand, I’ve dealt with Simply Computing a fair bit, and I doubt they’ll have any problem maintaining their (mostly business) customer base. The big thing the Apple Store brings? Visibility. The guy in front of me in line yesterday morning was a switcher-in-waiting, about to buy a MacBook rather than another Windows machine. Without an Apple Store, he might still be trying to figure out where to go.

Biff Whammy May 25, 2008 at 12:53 pm

yeah, ifo please check the stats and update the article. That’s way more than 30 feet deep, just look at your picture

mike May 25, 2008 at 6:44 pm

I think the selling point of the new Apple Store is that it has everything you need. I find that the local BB has very little in the way of Mac stuff (a couple of imacs, macbooks plus some accessories and software), only the Metrotown and Cambie stores have a bit more. Plus the Apple Store has training sessions and such that you can’t really get anywhere else.

Now, the store opening is a bit ironic, cause last week I finally went to the one at Southcenter in Seattle, and was a bit disappointed by the size, so I hope this one’s at least a little bigger. Looking at the mall map, it looks like it should be pretty big.

jason May 25, 2008 at 7:47 pm

The location is part of a revitalization of a once-popular Granville Street that had fallen into disrepair over the last few decades. With a new SkyTrain transit line opening next summer just across the street, and the incredibly high density of Vancouver’s West End, the location is easy access to many people.

For me, the Educational pricing available at the store is a bonus (I am a faculty and staff member at a local higher ed) and I occasionally work at the downtown campus, a mere 1.5 blocks away.

The store was typical Apple Mall (almost identical to the Las Vegas Fashion Mall store) and was incredibly crowded on day on - not a surprise.

Alistair Calder May 26, 2008 at 9:12 am

This store design is not new at all. I has already been used at this store over a year ago: http://www.apple.com/uk/retail/bentallcentre/

Anonymous May 26, 2008 at 2:26 pm

I went back there today with my girlfriend (she wanted to go to H&M and the Apple Store too). It’s a little bit bigger than I thought, but I was surprised that the store was still quite packed. There were lots of people. It’s true that it might be just because it’s still early in the life of the store, but if that’s how busy it will be most days, they’ll have to expand it at some point.

When you consider where Vancouver is going in the next few years (Olympics, etc), it’s almost a guarantee that we’ll get a bigger store eventually. Either that Pacific Centre location will be expanded downstairs with an entrance on Granville street, or even a large store in Yaletown after the RAV line is finished.

truant May 26, 2008 at 4:06 pm

If it can be of an explanation:

Montreal will gain a huge Apple Store later this year but remember they first opened the “Carrefour Laval” shopping center store, just outside Montreal, a small-size location and a bit far to reach for montrealers. I think it’s just a matter of local/global market strategy. They open what they can if it’s available and wait for the right spot for a bigger flagship location.

Karl May 27, 2008 at 7:29 am

Do not assume that you are getting a flagship store. Maybe if this location does extremely well.

I also find it interesting that in the United States all of the talk about a location is the street it is on or the Interstate that it is near. But in Canada the mention is the mass transit Granville station or the new RAV line. Hear anybody talk about The Ride near Denver’s Aspen Grove store?

Mark Wilson May 28, 2008 at 7:44 pm

Sat., May 24, 2008
7:07 a.m.-I was the 12th in line. The first person in line came at 5:35 a.m.. He had to wait outside
by the Le Chateau Granville Street entrance until the mall doors opened at 6 a.m.. Coffee was passed out earlier by Apple staff to the first 10 in line. The 13th person had worked for the store for 4 days. He signed a nondisclosure agreement and would not tell if the third level is unfinished or used for storage/offices.

7:25 a.m.-Two Apple staff handed out a 14 pages one to one mini pamplet.

7:34 a.m.-The metal security grating was rolled up.

7:38 a.m.-The security grating was rolled up and down to test. The grating remained up.

7:39 a.m.-There were 28 people within the first set of barriers in front of the Apple store.

7:55 a.m.-A second line up was started around the corner of the H & M store.

8:01 a.m.-The Apple photogragher using a Canon EOS 5D had the first set of barriers moved to take pictures.
Her assistant had all photography stopped just in case the flashes would interfere with her Canon.

8:20 a.m.-There were 27 people within the first set of barriers.

8:29 a.m.-The first set of barriers was moved back to give a clear view of the whole front of the store for the photographer.

8:30 a.m.-The security grating was lowered half down.

8:55 a.m.-The security guards ordered the first line up to tighten up. Media were arriving for the 9 a.m. media preview.

9:02 a.m.-The security grating was raised completely so media photographers could take photos of the large Apple logo.

9:16 a.m.-About 50 Apple staff came from a corridor to the left side of the store to do high fives with
the people in the first line up. Apparently the second line up is out to Georgia Street now. The Apple staff stayed around half an hour to talk. The name tag is also a card holder. Many cards given out. There were three colors of T shirts for the four types of staff.

-orange-Concierge-”I know people” on the front of the T shirt.
-blue-Specialist-”I could talk about this stuff for hours”
-blue-Manager-”Our place is your place”
-purple-Genius-”Not all heroes wear capes”

9:33 a.m.-The security grating was lowered completely.

9:44 a.m.-The Apple staff go back in by the left side corridor.

9:50 a.m.-The security guards told to squeeze in. Some people in the second line up moved up to the first line up.

9:58 a.m.-The store lights and the lights to the two logos (small logo on the wall on the left side of the store) were turned off.

10:00 a.m.-In darkness Apple staff brought to the front crates of T shirt boxes to the left side of the store.

10:03 a.m.-In darkness the security grating lifted. The lights came back on. People were allowed in. Apple staff high fived the incoming crowd the length of the store. The Specialists had handheld devices made by Fujitsu for charge/debit card purchases. There was a cash register at the back Genius bar.

10:30 a.m.-The first false alarm rang for about 30 seconds before being shut off.

10:51 a.m.-I left the store (to win a pie eating contest). I would have liked to have stayed until the T shirts ran out. The second line up went outside the mall to Georgia Street. Outside Luis of the Consultants Network was handing sheets to promote his business. Luis had not gotten a T shirt.

Apple Store-Pacific Centre Opening, Sat., May 24, 2008 Photo Albums

Apple Store-Pacific Centre Opening, Sat., May 24, 2008, Part 1 7:07 a.m. to 10:04 a.m.
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2002909&l=8a49b&id=1210082439
Apple Store-Pacific Centre Opening, Sat., May 24, 2008, Part 2 10:04 a.m. to 11:00 a.m.
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2002938&l=34de4&id=1210082439

Ken Wong May 29, 2008 at 7:14 pm

I was there for the opening (that’s my photo you’ve used without a link back to Flickr btw).

One thing I noticed is there is a mall door beside the store (to the left of the security guard in the photo) that appears to be Apple’s. Someone was let out of it during the opening (a contractor perhaps) by a blue shirt employee and you could see piled floor to ceiling and as far back as I could see, on the right side of the long hallway, Canon printers so I guess it’s their temp storage.

John
aka Retrocactus on Flickr
http://www.flickr.com/photos/retrocactus/2519153658/

John Biehler May 30, 2008 at 12:13 pm

Yea that’s not a new design for the store because the one I went into while I was in San Jose is the same look/dimensions.

But yea you can get the same items over at London Drugs which is on the corner of Granville and Georgia. Actually you can get to it from the mall underground too.

The store is a nice novelty though :)

Tyler Ingram May 30, 2008 at 1:01 pm

Finally was able to check out the new store yesterday, and it’s actually bigger than I expected. It’s not a little thing, it’s a number of times deeper than the width. Probably at least 3 or 4 times the width, so more like 25 feet by 100. I was just a bit overwelmed. As for the location, seems good, right next to the main entrance you can see a little apple logo sticking out from the side.

jason May 31, 2008 at 10:08 am

here is mini store

http://www.ifoapplestore.com/stores/partridge_creek_opening/Pages/2.html

Betty Koyle May 31, 2008 at 12:55 pm

Apple fans take note, this store is like a walk-in closet. It’s small boring and not much to look at. I almost had a job there, and I’m thankful not. I’d go squirrely standing in there all day. As far as the other stores in Vancouver, just about any one is better. All the 3rd party products here are way over-priced, and the selection is slim. Simply Computing gets my vote as well, and stay away from Westword - they spell service c-e-r-v-i-x.

zorax June 6, 2008 at 11:48 am
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