Suburban Square Apple store grand opening this Saturday
Here I was just complaining that Apple hasn't opened a store in Center City Philadelphia, and what do I find in my inbox? An announcement of the grand opening of Apple's newest store, Suburban Square in Ardmore, PA (which is just outside of Philadelphia). The fun begins at 10am this Saturday, and as usual Apple will be raffling stuff away a 'Digital Lifestyle Collection,' which includes:
- 17-inch 1.83GHz Intel Core Duo iMac
- 4GB iPod nano
- Canon PowerShot SD450 digital camera
- Sony Handycam CCD-TRV138
- HP Deskjet 5440 printer.
![TUAW [Cafepress]](http://www.blogsmithmedia.com/www.tuaw.com/media/tuaw-cafepress-promo.png)
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
Bill said 5:10PM on 5-08-2006
Hey Scott,
When I was a little kid, I used to ride my bike to Suburban Square to get toys, see movies, etc. So now I'll drive my car to my favorite toy store. Couldn't peddle the darn bike there anyway. I'm too old and the traffic's too heavy. And so am I.
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AirBlock said 5:37PM on 5-08-2006
While you are at Suburban Square, I highly recommend taking a few minute detour and head over to Haverford College (my Alma Matter) to enjoy the duck pond and nature trail. You won't regret it.
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lgc90 said 5:47PM on 5-08-2006
AirBlock, I am currently a sophmore at The Haverford School (next to Haverford College), and I often go on runs around the Haverford College campus for winter crew practice. I pass Suburban Square on my way to school every morning, and I have been observing the new store's construction daily in eager anticipation. The next closest store has always been King of Prussia, which is about 30 minutes away for me, but Suburban Square is only 5 minutes from my house.
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onechord said 6:02PM on 5-08-2006
Nice to see Apple's putting a studio in this one, King of Prussia doesn't have one. Oh, and Igc90, it's all about Malvern Prep.
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RAV said 6:08PM on 5-08-2006
I don't understand this location at all. These are going to be the only 2 Apple stores in like a 50 mile radius and they are practically down the street from each other. Putting one in the city or further out in the suburbs (where I'm at) would have made a little more sense.
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Scott McNulty said 6:38PM on 5-08-2006
I'm with you RAV. I want an Apple Store in Center City (near Rittenhouse Square if you please). That way I can walk to the darned thing! Though as others have pointed out, that might negatively impact Springboard Media.;
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anonymous said 6:48PM on 5-08-2006
ya do you have any idea when you re gonna go, or just showing up there, becuase i wanna try and run into you if u can
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NL said 7:15PM on 5-08-2006
For a while I was hoping they'd put one where the old Borders used to be on Walnut, but now hopes have been dashed. Darn it.
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Bill said 9:48PM on 5-08-2006
Rav,
If you've been to KofP and other Apple retail stores, they are constantly asking what your Zip Code is. Apple puts all this info in a demographic survey (and probably a map) database to see where the customers are coming from. Given that the KofP is way too small to handle the customer base, Apple needed to expand. So the question came down to where?
Villanova, St. Joe's, Bryn Mawr, Haverford and the other colleges along with the chance to have the affluent Main Line at your doorstep makes Suburban Square extremely logical. The adjacent R5 Septa (or 105 bus) stop brings in the Drexel, U of P, Temple and LaSalle crowd. And Suburban Square, along with Ardmore, is undergoing a renaissance of sorts. The stores are more upscale which is in keeping with Apple's plan.
So wait to see what the crowds will be once the hoopla dies down. The only limiting factor will be the parking lot. And who says once that section of Suburban Square is done, there won't be a multi-level municipal parking lot? Not me. Since the store is at least 2-3 times the size of KofP, it should be a bit easier to get service.
And don't count out a center city store. Steve has a tendency to be patient about the locale. If his team has their eye on a certain site, they'll wait until the surrounding stores are in their style/demographic levels and then lease what they want.
Bill
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Eric said 10:45PM on 5-08-2006
dude haverford sucks marple newtown is amazing...i will be there...ill be wearing the eagles shirt and im 14 so u can fight me there
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RAV said 10:59PM on 5-08-2006
I appreciate the insight Bill. I haven't been to the KoP location and haven't seen the construction of the new store so I wasn't aware of the size differences.
Also, I went to college over in NJ and the campus bookstore had a whole corner of the store devoted to Mac hardware/software available with educational discounts. I was under the impression that most colleges had something like that available right on campus, but I'm only going by what I experienced (and that was several years ago). If Apple relies more heavily now on it's retail stores to serve the local schools then this location makes a lot more sense.
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Stealth43 said 9:00AM on 5-09-2006
Hey all,
Ima try to make it out there too. The Dad Vail Regatta is this Saturday too though, so I dunno. I just wanted to make the observation in response to an earlier comment about pulling in Penn kids to the SSq. store, most of (read: almost all) of the Penn kids, alumni, faculty, and anyone else remotely associated with Penn tend to shop at Penn Computer Connection. This isnt to say that business wont be swapped back and forth. In fact I wouldnt be surprised if, when someone calls the SSq. peeps from the University City area and asks about buying something they didnt recommend checking to see if PCC has it first. There are some things that PCC cant handle (certain repairs, et al) and Im sure they'll reciprocate. It'll be nice to tell folks that they dont have to go all the way out to the mall of death...(KofP).
I've run into our regions Mac rep at PCC a couple of times, and hes a really nice chap.
Oh, I'll probably have a red and blue RELoad bag on.
Cheers all.
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SubGenius said 12:23PM on 5-09-2006
A center city AND a university city location would be smart.
Preferably near city hall or independence mall.
Philadelphia is a big city and can support a lot of stores.
Eric, I'm 32 but I'll kick your ass anyway. ; )
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alex said 1:56PM on 5-09-2006
there is the computer connection at the penn bookstore to service university city. They dont have EVERYTHING an apples store might, but they also have lots of other extra stuff that an apples store wouldnt carry as well.
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PurpleCar said 3:54PM on 5-13-2006
Hey! I was there, got my t-shirt today. Waiting in the sun was hot, but worth it. The store is HUGE! I didn't get to walk around unfortunately. Too crowded for a stroller!
I already have my sweet dual processor G5 and my 20gig iPod. Got the G5 through Penn Comp. Connection's website at apple.com. Husband works at Penn, so we scored a discount. Can't beat that. Doubt I'll be buying much at the apple store but it was fulfilling to be with my people.
I posted on my own blog about the eBay sales of the t-shirts! One is already up and starting bid is 5.99!
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Jennifer Lynn said 8:39AM on 6-28-2006
Suburban square does suck and that area has a lot of traffic as it is-- try and find parking at trader joe's and you have to fight soccer moms in SUVs. University city would have been ideal.... :-(
Oh well
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