Apple Store coming to Penn Square- confirmed

[okcpulse]

Here is my list of problems with Apple computers (honestly I wish had one).

-First, I am a PC builder. I love putting PC's together. There is suh a large variety of components to make a kicka** and stable PC. It's part of what I will be doing for a living after I graduate from school. You can't do this with Apple computers. Ever been to a computer store that sells Apple computer processors? Motherboards? RAM? NOPE!

-Apple computers are expensive. Excellent computers, but expensive. Even the software is more expensive. I'd buy one, but one problem. Don't have the $$$ at hand, but only after I bought a $1200 laptop for my wife that works just fine (with Windows XP platform) and I built a power PC than I have invested a lot of money into. So, for the time being, no, don't plan to buy one.

-Too proprietary. Mac OS X can ONLY work with Apple computers, not PC parts. That's it. On a PC you can install any Windows platform or Linux.

-Finally, Apple does NOT market itself well. If they did, I'd buy one with the $2000+ I spent on a laptop AND bulding a PC!

Hey, I'm all for having an Apple store in Oklahoma City. I'm happy it will be here. I'll window shop, even. But they will not see my money. Sorry guys.

[mranderson]

The daily Oklahoman reported the location of the Apple store this morning. It is official now.

[Luke]

Sweet!

I wonder where in the mall it will be? Patrick, did you say White House/Black Market would be where the former House Divided store was? If not, I would hope Apple get that location since it is at center court. However, I'm just glad an Apple Store is coming!

[Patrick]

Yeah, White House/Black Market is going in there. Right now, I'm thinking Apple will get either part of the J. Crew space, or part of the Banana Republic space. Who knows though.....Bob could've been throwing me off...we'll see here in a few months.

I noticed yesterday the Finish Line is remodeling their store. They're currently located in a temporary location at the old "Life Uniform" store. I was actually kind of surprised to see Life Uniform move out of Penn Square and over to Lakeside Shops, but I guess rent is cheaper over there.

[Patrick]

" Apple Computer plans mall store



Apple Computer will open a retail store in Penn Square Mall sometime "later this year," an Apple spokeswoman said Tuesday.

Jane Rauckhorst, senior manager for Apple's retail store media relations, would not divulge any details about the exact opening date, the store's size or employment base other than "obviously, it's a mall store."

Apple is advertising seven positions for the Penn Square store on its Web site, including store manager, assistant store manager, Mac genius, Mac specialist, part-time Mac specialist, keyholder and inventory control specialist.

"Our stores are a great place to work, and we are certainly excited to get talented applicants for our Oklahoma City store, which will open later this year," Rauckhorst said. "

[Patrick]

I noticed that The Oklahoma stated this:

"Penn Square Mall spokeswoman Jeanette Smith on Wednesday said the store probably will open "later this fall, closer to the holiday season."

As for the exact location in the mall, that hasn't been determined, although it will be on the lower level, she said. "

I guess we know more than The Oklahoman does...at least Bob gave me a hint! lol! A current store will downsize or relocate to make way for the Apple Store.

[Jay]

http://www.ifoapplestore.com/

[Patrick]

I've been thinking a lot about some possible locations for this. Last time I thought about this, the three possiblities were J. Crew, Banana Republic, and Abercrombie and Fitch. All three of these are very large stores that could be sized down to make way for Apple on the lower level. I'm thinking that J. Crew might be out of th epicture now, sicne when they first moved to the mall, they had to put a catalog phone in the store because they claimed they didn't have enough space. The Banana Republic space opens up into two wings and is quite large. But, I guess if I had to pick right now, based on traffic levels, I'd say Abercombie and Fitch isn't using all of their space in their store near Foley's. Cutting that store in half to make way for Apple would be easy. That would put Apple right across the hall from Williams-Sonoma, and down from Sharper Image, which might not be a bad fit.