[OT] Apple Retail Stores
Some of the other retailers, such as Staples, Office Depot, and Radio Shack, are no longer carrying computers in stock. I believe you have to go into the store to order them. Seems like a waste of time.
I agree, why would anybody do that? It's not like the expert computer advice you get at those stores is better than the reviews you can get in magazines at your local supermarket.
But there is no reason why this should be true at an Apple store. Remember, those stores you listed are very general retail outlets with thousands of different products ranging from reams of paper to capacitors to office furniture, so it's not really feasible for them to have a full line of computer products, all set up and maintained so you can sit down and play with them. The Apple stores, on the other hand, simply carry Apple computers and peripherals that work with them.
More importantly, the stores provide service for Apple products. In many smaller towns, even some with hundreds of thousands of people, there are currently no stores that provide Apple service. Users have to ship their computers away to get warranty work done. Apple stores will fix that. Even if the Apple stores were all unprofitable, they would be good for Apple, if only because their customers need convenient service. But I also think they will be good for Apple sales, because there's just no other store where a computer buyer can get a fair picture of what Apple has to offer. Certainly not Staples, Office Depot, and Radio Shack.
Dave |
