Apple Opens First Canadian Store in Toronto

ElectroBot writes "I received a email today with an invitation to the Grand Opening of the first Apple Store in Canada. The Store is opening on May 21st at 9:30am at the Yorkdale Shopping Center in Toronto. There's also a contest for a Digital Lifestyle Collection valued at $2,985. On top of that the first 1,500 people to arrive at the opening will receive a free Apple T-shirt."

Comments

Arg

[seann]

My Powerbooks power adapter died on friday the 13th.

I really could of used an apple store then!

Re:Arg

[Anonymous Coward]

Yeah, but look at those prices! Just about every product they sell seems to cost more up in the Canada store than down in the US stores.

It's like Apple thinks a dollar from a Canadian isn't worth quite as much as a dollar from an American!

Why do they hate Canadians like that?

Re:Arg

[Guy Harris]

Except perhaps during hockey season, when I suspect they are all about the Anneheim team

I don't - the Sharks are a bit closer to Cupertino than are the Mighty Ducks.

Shyeah!

[Anonymous Coward]

As if Canadians have any use for a t-shirt! The store should be giving out Apple toques.

Re:Shyeah!

[ThePromenader]

Apple, eh. Microsoft? Take off, hoser.

Seriously, reading that Apple hasn't opened a store in Canada before now almost literally knocked me on my ass. Well, it would have if I wasn't sitting on it already.

I do remember having to go to NY to buy my Mac IIfx, but that was in... 1988? Jeez. Has Apple even offered any explanation why they've been so frigid with the Great White North?

Re:Shyeah!

[94229a]

I doubt you went to an Apple Retail store in 1998. The first store was opened in Virginia in 2001.

So we're a bit behind the times in Canada, but not that badly! The first store in Europe was opened in November 2004.

SOURCE: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apple_Store_(retail)/

Re:Shyeah!

[ThePromenader]

I said 1988 and no, it wasn't an "Apple" store... it was... something "outlet" - ?

I don't think Canada's "behind the times" - I'd always been using a computer for graphics since computing began. Now please pass me that kindling; I have to stoke the generator.

Congratulations Canada

[Golias]

Now can we close the three in Minnesota, so I can skate around the local sales tax when ordering from the Apple Store online? ... er... I mean... so I can declare the sales taxes myself when I file, as I always do when ordering products through the mail or Internet, in full compliance with current laws, rather than having the tax added to the purchase price right away?

(whew!)

Re:Congratulations Canada

[TVC15]

Apple will collect sales tax anyway. There are no Apple stores in DC and they still collect DC sales tax when I order. Been that way for years.

Re:Congratulations Canada

[billcopc]

I'm sorry to burst your bubble (that's a lie, I really hate americans just because it's the hip thing to do up here).. you're going to pay taxes anyway! In order for a tax exemption to be valid, there must be proof of address, and that proof comes in the form of a physical shipment. You can't just wave an immigrant driver's licence and skirt the GST, you have to pay your crap, wait for a big brown box to arrive at your doorstep and pay the exorbitant courier fees.

Yes, it sucks. There's no such thing as a free lunch, especially not in Canada.

Let me be the first to say...

[daeley]

Beauty!

Re:Let me be the first to say...

[treerex]

That's "Beauty, eh?" you hoser.

More than a store

[amichalo]

Okay, so Apple opening a retail store, even in a country that didn't have one before, it not news to get too excited about.

But it does give us an opportunity to discuss Apple's retail stores and how that are more than just "stores". AppleInsider has a nice piece on the Apple retail stores and it gives insight into how Apple is once again following their "Think Different" mantra. (It also tells us how Apple has over 100 retail stores, plans to open 20 more this year and is opening stores at a rate of one every 10 days.)

For instance, Apple stores feature "Genius Bars" that allow anyone to walk up (or make an appointment) and get technical help with their Mac concern. They can even send a computer out for repair on the spot.

Genius Bars don't float your boat (sure, even Best Buy has a computer service window, though "Genius" may be too strong a title for the staff), then try the instore theaters that host free and for-a-fee software demos and tutorials to help users get the most out of appe like iLife, or delve into Pro products. They also host third party software demos.

This really is the first time that someone can go to a store, buy a computer, and then sit down and learn how the heck to use it. HomeDepot has been doing this sort of thing with weekend project classes with good success and it is nice to see the practice making its way to the IT sector where so many people (who don't know what /. is) feel so very intimidated by technology.

Re:More than a store

[mzweng]

But if you want to use your educational discount on software, you have to go to the online store. The discount works on hardware in the store, but for some reason they can't apply it to software.

There's an Apple store 15 minutes from my home, but I've put off getting Tiger because I want instant gratification (and the $69 edu discount price!)

Re:More than a store

[Golias]

But it does give us an opportunity to discuss Apple's retail stores and how that are more than just "stores"... [insert all kinds of stuff which small PC stored used to do before the massive chains pushed them out of the market...]

It's not that Apple Stores are "more than" stores. It's that most computer warehouses are less.

Try this sometime: Walk in to a CompUSA, Best Buy, Fry's, Microcenter, whatever... Ask a question about a relatively new technology to which you already know the answer. Assuming you get anybody to tell you anything about it, you will be stunned at the kind of misinformation which that kid in the snappy uniform vest will sling at you while pretending to know what he's talking about. Feign ignorance... let him keep talking and see how deep the rabbit hole goes. Sometimes it's really astonishing.

Now consider that every one of your most clueless relatives who come in and ask for advice about which printer to buy, the differences between digital cameras, the various speeds of USB, etc., are all getting "advice" from these shockingly ignorant boobs.

No wonder they call you at 11:30 at night needing your help to get a scanner driver to work with their version of Windows. When they try to learn things themselves, from people who sell this crap for a living and therefore must know something about it, they get guided into a labyrinth of bogosity which they are unlikely to ever find their way out of.

The problem is that PC's have reached the razor-thin price margins of consumer electronics, but not the simplicity. Your grandpa can eventually figure out a VCR or a microwave, but when it comes to the computer, he needs help. That's why those absurd "learn how to use a computer" CD's which you keep seeing infomercials for haven't gone away yet.

This is a place where Apple has two advantages:

1. It's slightly easier for a n00b to learn (although that gap has closed slightly... and the number of people who lack computer literacy is slowly declining).

2. The margins are fat enough that they don't mind spending a few bucks giving free training and troubleshooting advice in fancy shopping-mall stores.

Re:More than a store

[Golias]

Now if I can just get somebody to teach me to remember to close my italics tags, or at least hit the damned preview button before posting, I'd be doing great. :P

Re:More than a store

[lpangelrob2]

Slashdot has reported before about opening *virtual* stores in other countries -- I don't see why Canada should be excluded. :-)

Is it a standalone store (a la Michigan Avenue, or inside a mall?

Re:More than a store

[amichalo]

It's not that Apple Stores are "more than" stores. It's that most computer warehouses are less.

I disagree with this statement.

The expectation I have of a store is that I can see the products for sale, touch them, examine them (perhaps I cannot use them such as at a food store, but as the price increases, I can, like at a car dealership). I expect to be able to ask questions about the product itself, "how many 'foo' does this have?" "what does 'bar' mean?" I lastly expect to be able to purchase the item or atleast place an order for one.

Apple takes it way further. The Genius Bar allows me to ask detailed technical questions and even fix my technical solution. The studios allow me to get training on software. This is a way new concept for most stores but it is catching on. A home decore store won't teach you how to decorate your house, but some cooking suply stores have instructional kitchens where you can go and watch chefs cook.

The concept is very appealing because it turns the whole 'sales' aspect of the store into an information station, where I can also buy the products I just learned about.

The whole part about CompUSA sreading miss-information, and the part about the closing italic tag I agree with.

Re:More than a store

[Anonymous Coward]

It's funny how we still expect people who sell us products to know how they work. Fact is, Best Buy (and the like) employees are $8 an hour high school and community college students who can't afford the expensive devices they're selling you. The working environment in the large chains is often hostile, and turnover is so great they don't bother to train anybody. They DO tell them to answer every question the best they can to make the sale (whether they know the answer or not.) Saying "I don't know what that does" is a sure way to get fired. But there is no penalty for being wrong. And they're wrong a lot, because their education consists of reading the features on the box and guessing (or asking coworkers, who usually aren't a wealth of knowledge themselves) what they mean.

I'm not railing against the employees, by the way. This is a problem with management.

Anyway, as dorky as the "Genius Bar" is, it's a good thing. Apple employees tend to be Apple fans who do know a thing or two about what they're selling. They also do a pretty good job of training and teaching their staff about new products-- admittedly It helps that Apple has a limited line, so there aren't hundreds of devices to know the specs for.

Re:More than a store

[Greedo]

It's inside a mall.

Re:More than a store

[Cecil]

Okay, so Apple opening a retail store, even in a country that didn't have one before

Easy for you to say, yankee.

I, for one, welcome our new Apple store overlords!

Re:More than a store

[CableModemSniper]

You can get the edu discount in store. thats how my brother bought his iBook. Just bring a transcript or acceptance letter or other proof.

Re:More than a store

[MoneyT]

You can't get the edu version from the store because it's actually sold under a different license and the stores don't carry those. I'm not sure why they don't carry them when so many people want them, but I assume it's because the boxes are identical, it's just the internal license and SKU.

Re:More than a store

[Anonymous Coward]

There's also other differences. Apple store employees don't get comission (ask em), and they're told from day one to never bullshit. If you don't know the answer tell the customer, I don't know, but I'll find out, and the customer will appreciate it much more than being given bull only to find out later it was wrong. It also helps that all the computers in their store are online, so if there's a question that can be researched quickly via google, they can do it, and even show the customer how to do it.

Its about the touchie feelies

[oh_the_humanity]

I think apple realizes the intrinsic value of touch and feel. Being able to walk in to a store, where not only is the beautiful hardware on display for you to grope and fondle, but the entire store aesthetically is designed with the same thought process. You're getting a total immersion into the apple philosophy. Its one thing to oogle at pictures on a website, and it's another to play with them IRL, and apple knows it.

What good is that?

[David Mazzotta]

Why doesn't he open a Canadian Store in the US? Why should I have to travel all the way to Toronto to buy a Canadian?

Re:What good is that?

[tbone1]

Why doesn't he open a Canadian Store in the US? Why should I have to travel all the way to Toronto to buy a Canadian?

You don't have to; most of them are in Florida already.

Re:What good is that?

[rakerman]

Because in Canada, they're offering the human beings for free.

free human being

In Celebration

[bill_mcgonigle]

We've already heard there's a new keyboard layout in Tiger called Canadian that's identical to the U.S. layout but displays a Canadian Flag (or is that Canada Flag?) in the menubar.

To celebrate the opening of the new Apple store, 10.4.1 will change the first item under the Apple menu to "Aboot This Mac..." when the Canada layout is selected.

Re:In Celebration

[dadragon]

We've already heard there's a new keyboard layout in Tiger called Canadian that's identical to the U.S. layout but displays a Canadian Flag (or is that Canada Flag?) in the menubar.

I know this is meant to be a joke, but there already is a Canadian layout. It is different from the US layout, because it has accent keys and some other nicities. It's called the Canadian Multi-lingual Standard, or CSA (Canadian Standards Association) keyboard. If you want a keyboard that (AFAIK) is just like the US but displays a different flag, try Australian.

Re:In Celebration

[Guy Harris]

I know this is meant to be a joke, but there already is a Canadian layout. It is different from the US layout, because it has accent keys and some other nicities. It's called the Canadian Multi-lingual Standard, or CSA (Canadian Standards Association) keyboard.

And it's not new in Tiger; it's in Panther, or, at least, a layout with the Canadian flag and "CSA" below it is.

Re:In Celebration

[dadragon]

And it's not new in Tiger; it's in Panther, or, at least, a layout with the Canadian flag and "CSA" below it is.

It's been in every operating system that I've used and allows one to change the keyboard layout, actually. Even Windows 95, DOS, and all the BSDs and Linuxes I've used.

Re:In Celebration

[smallduck]

there already is a Canadian layout. It is different from the US layout, because it has accent keys and some other nicities. It's called the Canadian Multi-lingual Standard, or CSA (Canadian Standards Association) keyboard.

The problem with the CSA layout is that for most of us its wrong. Unless we're in a government office (or Quebec I suppose), then our computers have "normal" U.S. layouts.

I know some people who, rather than seeing a U.S. flag in their menubar, would choose the CSA layout and learn the locations of the symbols and accents by trial and error.

Me, I read Apple's technote on making new keyboard layout bundles and made my own Canadian flag layout that duplicated the U.S. one. Hmm, now that Tiger includes a layout just like this, I won't get very far selling mine.. damn.

I got the email too!

[Steve Cowan]

here's the text of it. sorry it's not heavily html-laden, like the original:
-----
Apple Store, Yorkdale
9:30 a.m., Saturday, May 21

See the latest from Apple up close.
Help us celebrate the grand opening of our first Canadian store and be one of the first to check out Mac OS X Tiger. See for yourself how the iPod family and iPod accessories continue to redefine the way you experience music. You can also try the powerful and compact Mac mini--the most affordable Mac ever. And while you're at it, test-drive iLife '05 and iWork '05, software that lets you create and present better than ever. What's more, the first 1,500 people to stop by the grand opening get a fre e Apple T-shirt.

A great place to shop. A great place to learn.
The Apple Store is more than just a great place to shop. It's also a great place to get answers to tough questions. Come in and schedule an appointment with a Genius at our Genius Bar or attend our free classes and workshops. You can also speak with a Business Consultant about our range of service and support options, as well as get details of our Business Day.

Grand Opening Contest.
Come by between May 21 and June 30 and enter to win a Digital Lifestyle Collection valued at $2,985.* The collection includes a 17-inch iMac G5, a Canon digital camera and camcorder, an Epson printer, and an iPod mini.

Join us on May 21. This is one grand opening you won't want to miss.

Re:Not really the first store

[myamid]

Somehow I doubt this was actually an Applestore... More likely it was one of the many "Apple Only" resellers that have closed in droves over the last few years (like B.Mac in Montreal - Although I hear they'll be reopenning...)

software selection?

[failedlogic]

I live in Ottawa (and this probably fares the same for other cities), and frankly, the software selection in most computer stores in abyssimal. On-line Canadian retail presence seems lacking - now that CDW closed down its Mac branch. Is there anything in the way of good software selection in-store at the Mac retail stores? Or, are we going to find, that increasingly, on-line distribution is going to be the key (its happening more and more with Windows software)?

Re:software selection?

[superpulpsicle]

I have been to Toronto myself. You make it seem like there is nothing there. While Canada is short on anything "US supplied", it makes it up with many other import products from many other countries.

Here in the US is the exact opposite. We have a huge supply of everything US made, especially technology. We are short on just about everything cultural.

Okay, the first "Apple inc." Apple Store

[billcopc]

We used to have this place called BMac that was slightly different, in that they were a store with a bunch of hippie dykes finger-painting the walls with vaginally inspired art, while you asked them PC-like tech questions to which they replied "This Mac does more stuff than that other Mac". They also had funky craft supplies taking up half the store. Yay, now I can buy a triple-priced hard drive and a jug of varsol in one seamless transaction :P

They were definitely "Apple" in the sense that you stepped into an alternate reality where everyone was a grammar nazi with multicolored hair. I went there often to gaze at the sexy Mac gear but never coaxed myself to buy anything, mainly because you could smell the markup in the expensive, spacious, pointlessly flashy store. Start selling Macs off the back of a truck like the asian PC liquidators and I'll gladly dispense my money, but I want no part in funding a bunch of Ashton Kutcher wanna-bes.

Re:Just my kind of luck

[Anubis350]

Meh!

I think you meant: "Eh!"

Dude, his source was a wikipedia link

[commodoresloat]

Just edit the article, and change the date to 1988. Then you'll be right!

Re:Not really the first store

[Chucker23N]

We're talking Apple-designed and -staffed stores, cf. http://www.apple.com/retail/

It's the first of those in Canada. The UK have two now, as does Japan, and the US have over a hundred.

What you mean is an independent reseller.

Re:Proper Pronunciation

[Guy Harris]

We'll lend you ours if you want to see what English actually looks like.

If somebody wants to know what English actually looks like, they'll have to try an English dictionary, wherein the word for the round rubber things on automobile wheels is spelled "tyre" rather than "tire".

But, still, the language you speak up there is closer to English than is the language we speak down here, at least in the way it's spelled^Wspelt....

Re: My Aweful Apple Store Experience

[amichalo]

The long lines at the Genius Bar are exactly why Apple recommends a reservation.

Apple is also greatly expanding Genius bars in future store to combat this exact problem.

As for Lies and the Lying Liars that Tell Them, I can only say that either (1) you missunderstood, (2) the sales rep was missinformed, or (3) it is par for the course, just like at other PC retailers.

Apple certainly doesn't intend to pissoff customers. It was Apple's displeasure with the way their products were being sold in retail channels that led them to spend HUNDREDS OF MILLIONS OF DOLLARS to create a better experience.

If that experience is not to your liking, give them some grace because they have only been doing it for less than two years! Why don't you write a letter to the store manager and let them know instead of lashing out on /.?

Free Lunch! No tax!

[microcars]

if you are in the US and the Apple product you want is available from Amazon.com , you can get it with NO SALES TAX charged.

I got a new G5 iMac from Amazon, and saved $166 in sales tax (compared to buying online from Apple directly).

It arrived the next day even though I chose "Super Saver Shipping"!

Re:Not really the first store

[Big Jason]

Here in Bangalore, India there is a store in the local mall called Apple Centre.

Re:Not really the first store

[Chucker23N]

Yes, but Apple Centers are just Apple-authorized resellers and dealers.

Re:Not really the first store

[Big Jason]

This article seems to suggest the contrary. Granted, the store doesn't have the same amount of polish as my Apple Store in Dallas.

Canadian Commercials

[Delilah Jones]

Think different, eh.

Re:Free Lunch! No tax!

[bach37]

Wow! Thanks for the tip. Mod parent up!

Re:Free Lunch! No tax!

[generic-man]

Many states have a "use tax" where you have to pay the sales tax on out-of-state shipments as part of your income tax return. If you don't pay, you could be audited.

Re:Free Lunch! No tax!

[microcars]

"If you don't pay, you could be audited."

so, are you saying that the act of "not paying the use tax" triggers a State Income Tax Audit somehow?

How exactly does that happen?

Re:Not really the first store

[Delilah Jones]

It's a good thing, too.

I'm batting 0 for 1 with CompUSA on Apple products.

They jacked me on a G4, then it took them an inordinate amount of time (not to mention my barking up a number of trees) to finally get me my refund.

Ever since then, I've been Apple store or nothing. (especially the online store) ...I don't know what this comment had to do with anything, but it's interesting.

Re:Free Lunch! No tax!

[generic-man]

State taxing authorities know that on-line shopping is extremely common. If you made a lot of money but claimed you never bought anything out of state, that is a big fat "audit me" sign.

Some states (PA is not one) actually have a formula they advise that you use. If you don't know specifics, take your salary and multiply it by some value, and that's how much people in your income bracket spend on out-of-state purchases. The multiplier itself is a function of your salary, though of course it's a gross oversimplification.

The "use tax" is perhaps the least-collected tax besides the "Prohibited Items Tax" imposed by several states including Kansas.

Take off, eh?

[jo42]

I'll still buy all of my Mac stuff from http://www.macdoc.com/. He takes trade-ins, has good deals, etc. Apple Store can go and sod off, eh?