Filed under: Retail
Apple preparing another large London store?
The new store is touted as being a 3-storey affair taking up around 25,000 square foot. The existing Regent Street store is approximately 28,000 square foot, and according to ifoAppleStore remains one of the best performing stores - clearly Apple thinks there's plenty more custom to be snapped up and certainly TUAW visits to the flagship store have never been quiet affairs.
The Covent Garden store is apparently going to be located at 4 The Piazza, in a location currently taken by a restaurant and nightclub -- it is of course too early to guess when the new store will indeed open.
![TUAW [Cafepress]](http://www.blogsmithmedia.com/www.tuaw.com/media/tuaw-cafepress-promo.png)
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)
Alex Brooks said 7:47PM on 3-05-2008
Hate to nitpick but the Regent Street Store is the third largest Apple Store in the world dragging behind North Michigan Avenue and West 14th Street, possibly Fifth Avenue as well?
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Blaktornado said 7:51PM on 3-05-2008
I have a friend who works at the Regent Street store and he says it's incredibly busy in there.
While I think Apple should build another one to take down the stress levels for employees, they should work on building them further away from where they've got Apple stores (ie. try to get Apple stores in every county, at least a few miles from each biggish city or one within close distance from every city with a University) rather than just a mile or two away from their other stores.
Ah well. The more Apple Stores the merrier. They just aren't in a variety of places, that's all.
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Brad Wilkinson said 8:01PM on 3-05-2008
Yeah, ok cool.. Still waiting for my Leeds Apple Store though..
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Dennis said 5:09AM on 3-06-2008
You beat me to it!
The KRCS place just isn't the same.
Nick said 5:07AM on 3-06-2008
Me too! I've heard rumours there's one coming late '08 - early '09. I hope so, my nearest is Meadowhall - nightmare!
Ed said 9:57PM on 3-05-2008
Indeed, the Regents Street store is very busy, but being on one of the key shopping streets in London, thats to be expected. A large number of people there are tourists either buying things (sometimes) or just using the computers for email.
Covent Garden is a good location for a new store, they could also consider the new development at Shepard's Bush further west which I believe will be the largest shopping center in Europe or something stupid.
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krisjones1963 said 8:32AM on 3-06-2008
I'd have thought that Shepherd's Bush was a better long-term prospect for a large Apple Store. However, I believe the new shopping centre is suffering from construction problems, with a multi-million pound bill to correct the station platform so it's brought up to code.
Nik said 9:58PM on 3-05-2008
Here's something completely off topic, but Nik Fletcher is the only other person, besides myself, that I have ever seen that spells their name Nik instead of Nick or Nicholas.
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Nick said 5:08AM on 3-06-2008
Haha, my Dad spells it Nik, I can't stand spelling it like Nik, it looks too, I don't know? - unfinished?
Daniel Massarsky said 10:37PM on 3-05-2008
In case anyone is from the London area, the restaurant and nightclub referred to is the Rock Garden and The Gardening Club. I go to The Gardening Club quite often and I have heard no word of their potential closure.
Nonetheless, it is a great corner location and Covent Garden is prime real estate for Apple to expand to. Although the post states that it's just a mile away, it's actually quite a walk from Regent Street.
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Ethan said 2:27AM on 3-06-2008
Then why is the Manchester store tucked up in the hideous Arndale centre? I think King's St would definitely be a better place for it.
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Tony said 6:34AM on 3-06-2008
The new part of the arndale is quite nice actually.
Of course we already have two (the other one being at the trafford centre, and opens till 10pm each night) so we can hardly be complaining when large parts of the country don't even have access to one!
Gav said 2:55AM on 3-06-2008
Why the hell we haven't got one here in Bristol I'll never know!!
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diamonddogs said 4:29PM on 3-09-2008
With the Cabot Circus development coming up and a rich media heritage in the city with Aardman and BBC you'd think we'd be high up on the list, wouldn't you?
Though Western Computer up by Temple Meads is probably terrified of even the hint of a Apple Retail store being put up!!
Oskar Krawczyk said 4:37AM on 3-06-2008
New Apple Store just outside my office, get out!
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ed said 5:05AM on 3-06-2008
i've not been to any other apple store but i think the apple store on regent street is a terrible shopping experience. You would think that apple would get shopping right, it was so disappointing.
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Ed said 9:28AM on 3-06-2008
I think Regents Street is great - one of the few shops I enjoy going to. Everyone I know who's been there (even my mum!) think it's great.
ed said 11:46AM on 3-06-2008
i've had to go a few times and i hate it. but i've only been when it's been extremely busy and it is certainly not designed for the amount of custom it does get. it looks nice and all when i've seen through the windows when it's closed but it's terrible when full.
for a start it has no signage (you'd think apple would have good signage, but it has non) and *everything* is kept below head level which means that when it's crowded knowing what people are crowded around is impossible without forcing your way to the front. (I still have no idea what's on those tables near the entrance) I don't think the table layout helps those busy times either. From my experience, the first time you go there, if it's busy, you have to ask where stuff is.
If you've never been there before how would you know that software (or anything else for that matter) is upstairs, there's nothing to tell you.
Plus if you're upstairs trying to find the tills is difficult, what with no signage pointing you downstairs and the two 'genius' bars upstairs looking like they might be payment points with nothing to differentiate them esp. when they're surrounded by all the people they have had when i've been there.
Personally i think it's poorly designed for the amount of people they have in there. People i've spoken to have agreed with me so i can't be that crazy :S :D
Jez said 5:13AM on 3-06-2008
They should be opening one in Reading like they was last year. Signed the lease and everything but nothing came round and now nothing isn't on the apple website any more.
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Jonesy said 6:30AM on 3-06-2008
Yes please to Reading. Where was the lease signed for?
Plus, Reading is Microsofts UK head office so they need one there just for the cause!!