Apple Store coming to O'ahu, Hawaii?

I believe the MacMadeEasy store in Nuuanu closed down. As for the employees at the Ala Moana store, the ones I've talked to seem to be Mac Geeks and when I interviewed for a job at the store about three-fourths of the people interviewed were knowledgeable about Macs. But you can't expect everyone working there to be a Mac fanatic.

I can't wait for this to open. :D

I'm definitely surprised that, out of the whole state, Kahala Mall is the site that Apple is pursuing next. Lahaina always struck me as the perfect place for a store--not as much for the purpose of actually selling gear (although they'd do plenty of that), but to give tourists somewhere to drool on Apple kit (and camp out checking their mail).

Thanks, guys, for reminding me about MacMadeEasy. I should have remembered them, since that's where I bought my first iPod, back in 2001.

The New York Apple Store has similar issues with crowds and waiting. In addition to throughput issues, store managers had better crack down on the attitude problems discussed here: http://ungeni.us/section/retail/we_are_apple. I used to work at The Container Store, which is famous for its service, and which I often compare to the Apple Store in certain ways. If any employee at The Container Store, especially a floor employee, had been caught referring to the company as "they" rather than "we," they would definitely have been spoken to. I internalized the service culture there and I worked overnight unloading trucks -- as far from the customer as you could get.

Hawaii (Oahu, specifically) is my home in the US and I have been to the Alo Moana store zillions of times - very difficult to get good service because of the wait and the crowds. I was even asked one time to move on by a store employee while looking at a 30" monitor. So I did waht any self-respecting-Mac-User-since-1984 would do - I bought my G5 Dual 2.5 and 30" monitor from MacMadeEasy... cheapa.

Before Apple builds a new stoe they need to revamp the management at the Ala Moana store - and hire staff that know what they are talking about. Hopefully the new store will be able to have "classes" in a separate area as opposed ot the middle of the store - while the store is jammed packed.

Nuff said - Aloha e'

Mahalo for the first-hand note, Marvo. I haven't lived there in a few years, or I'd have known myself. I guess I shouldn't be surprised at the Ala Moana store being busy -- *every* Apple Store I've been to is always busy.

Yeah, Ala Moana is always packed. Unfortunately, Kahala Mall is a little further away for me, but only a few miles more than Ala Moana.

And we shoudln't forget about MacMadeEasy, they have two stores on the island already. I use to work at the island's biggest repair store (www.supergeeks.net) and we had numbers that showed Mac usage at around 10% for the Island.

The company I work for here is a communications company and we just announced we're converting our 75+ users over to Mac from PC. So I would say the higher mac usage justifies a 2nd store.

If you go to the Ala Moana store, it is usually packed, and it's not a very big store. Kahala Mall is kind of an ideal place for a new Apple Store, since the Kahala-Hawaii Kai area is known as the "wealthy" part of town, but Kahala Mall does get significantly less traffic than Ala Moana.

I love the hibiscus inside the Apple logo, very Hawaiian looking. It'd be cool if you could change the Apple logo on my MBP so it's red with the hibiscus in it.

Bring one to Ireland! At least Dublin, though Belfast would be nice too.