Rumor: Apple Store coming to Penn Square Mall

[Luke]

This is the third time I've made this thread. The other two times have floated off to thread heaven, I guess. Third time's a charm.

Rumor has it that Apple Computer is setting up a retail store in Penn Square Mall (as well as Woodland Hills in Tulsa). This is a big deal for us Mac heads. Unfortunately, OKC is one of the biggest cities (if not the biggest city) in the US that still doesn't have an Apple Store. Hopefully this rumor will prove to be true.

Also, these Apple Stores are usually in upscale areas.

Patrick, what can you tell me? I know you got inroads with the Penn Square management folks.

[okcpulse]

Well, for PC cloners like me (I built my own compter), this is of little significance to the power system I built, but it is good to see an Apple Store coming to Oklahoma City. I visited an Apple Store at the Houston Galleria and enjoyed looking at the merchandise. I would have loved to build a PC using Mac OS X (I'm not sure if you can), but I have invested too much money in my system to make an expensive switch. I can run Linux on my machine. However, installing Linux alongside Windows XP can be a real hassle. Since I disabled internet access on my power system and use the internet on a laptop (I considered Mac laptops but all were out of price range) , I have had no operating system issues, and all security issues have been eliminated. On the laptop I run Mozilla Firefox IE, so security issues aren't a problem.

If I get rich soon, or a substantial raise, I will definitely pay the Apple Store a visit.

[Patrick]

Well, if any mall in the metro got one of these stores I'm sure it would be Penn Square. As you mention, they tend to pop up in upscale retail centers. This would be a great addition to the metro retail market. For those of you that haven't been to an Apple Store, they're definitely unique....far more upscale and unique than a Gateway store. They're not just your everyday computer store.
I think you can tell just how upscale these stores are by okcpulse's statement....they have one in the Houston Galleria, one of the most upscale malls in the state of texas.

Hey guys, I'll check with the mall manager and find out if he can verify.

[Luke]

Penn Square Mall is becoming quite the upscale mall. I say we get rid of one of the kajillion Dillard's there and put in a Macy's or Saks.

I can't wait to hear back from you Patrick!

[Patrick]

Mall management continues to work slowly on bringing more upscale tenants to the mall. But it's a slow process and an uphill battle since this is the Oklahoma City market they're having to deal with. In the meantime, they are filling some of the extra space with more traditional stores like Payless ShoeSource, soon to open on the upper level next to Eskimo Joe's Clothes.