Apple considered buying Yoobee retail in NZ!

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? Reply # 856321 16-Jul-2013 11:24
Yoobee/Magnum Mac/Renaissance lost their exclusive Distribution/wholesaling deal in 2007 with Apple (Australia) directly supplying the large chain stores here - hence the "store within a store" areas that have popped up at JB, DSE, HN etc? Then in 2010 Apple appointed Ingram micro ?as a second local distributor,?

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? Reply # 856356 16-Jul-2013 12:02
wellygary: Yoobee/Magnum Mac/Renaissance lost their exclusive Distribution/wholesaling deal in 2007 with Apple (Australia) directly supplying the large chain stores here - hence the "store within a store" areas that have popped up at JB, DSE, HN etc? Then in 2010 Apple appointed Ingram micro ?as a second local distributor,? And now also Exeed, although they took over from Renaissance I think.

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? Reply # 856359 16-Jul-2013 12:04
Hmmmm..... A nice big shiny glass cube would look good in Britomart. Bring on the Apple store. Handsome Dan Has Spoken.

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? Reply # 857530 16-Jul-2013 17:45
With all things tech, New Zealand is a "rounding error". For Apple the retail market is best served by it's web store with the balance picked up by the current retailers. KiwiNZ Wh?ia te iti kahurangi Ki te t?ohu koe, me he maunga teitei Pursue excellence ? should you stumble, let it be to a lofty mountain

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? Reply # 857640 16-Jul-2013 19:53
Dunnersfella: I'd like to see a dedicated Apple story pop up as part of the Christchurch rebuild, they really are an example of top end retailing that has worked very, very well. Yes, that would be great to see. I do wonder though whether New Zealanders are generally wealthy enough to give Apple stores a captive market. Most average people that I speak to these days seem to be living hand-to-mouth and probably aren't as inclined to buy iPhones and iPads as our Australian cousins might.

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? Reply # 857643 16-Jul-2013 19:55
Plenty of 18 year olds I come across are running around with iPhones. Actually scratch that. Galaxy's now. (ducks for cover). Whatever they are using they seem to have money for shiny phones.... Galaxy SIII, Galaxy Note 10.1, ASUS UX31e Ultrabook, Mysky HDi, 2talk

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? Reply # 858079 17-Jul-2013 14:46
If they did open in NZ, I reckon they'd be more likely to open down in Wellington...Apple have a habit of doing up old beautiful buildings and making them a showcase...Wellington has plenty of these on offer. Auckland's Custom House (on Custom Street, currently a Duty Free Store) would be a great location in Auckland also.

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? Reply # 858083 17-Jul-2013 14:53
JimmyCorrigan: I always thought that "Yoobee" was an appalling name to pick for their rebranding. Sounds like a 90s dotcom-bubble company. Or a kid's yoghurt. Also, their store fit-out (in Manners St anyway), choice to paint everything black and give it a nasty cave-like ambiance was weird. Quite unpleasant to be in while I waited and waited to be served one day! Agree. Manners St shop is atrocious. It's well known bright and clear lighting helps to sell. Their stores do a terrible job at showcasing Apple products.

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? Reply # 858093 17-Jul-2013 15:18
Yoobee retail stores have for some time been the antithesis of an Apple Store. Black to Apple's white, gllom, to Apple's brightness, professional indifference, to Apple's almost overbearing attentiveness. Having spent WAY too much time at Yoobee in Britomart and also having spent several hours in the sydney Apple Store, I would say that they just got it wrong at Yoobee - in so many ways. I waited and waited and waited with a cable and an iTunes card in my hand (circa $100.00 worth of kit) while they diddled about en-masse on a Mac for some other punter. One of those staff could have come and served me, but they didn't bother - I wasn't dropping two grand on a new machine - I'd done that 6 months earlier, so I was not of any consequence. I walked and went to DSE, where I was immediately accosted and served and paid the same aount to them for the items I wanted. Handsome Dan Has Spoken.

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? Reply # 862817 20-Jul-2013 23:19	One person supports this post
When I was at Apple (A couple of years ago) they were exploring setting up a small format store like the one in Robina in downtown Auckland. The word was though that the local landlords thought Apple meant $$$ - so weren't willing to agree to the subsidised rents they get everywhere else in the world. The Apple retail concept depends on heavily subsidised rent to offset the cost of maintaining an above average level of retail staff. This is how they achieve the EBIT corporate demands while maintaining the 'Apple experience'

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