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Washington Apple Store to relocate away from huge Microsoft Store

by Kelly Hodgkins May 12th 2011 at 11:00AM

Bellevue Square Washington Retail StoreApple is moving its Bellevue Square Washington store from its 4,600 square-foot location on the ground floor to a second level retail space that will double its current size. Besides increasing its retail footprint, the Apple store will be moving away from the giant Microsoft store, which is few doors down on the ground floor.

Interestingly enough, the Apple store will now be positioned above and across from the Microsoft store. Every customer leaving the Microsoft retail store may be able glance upwards and see a giant Apple logo looking down on them. Do you think, even a little bit, that Apple is doing this to lure customers away from its Redmond-based competitor?

The move should be completed by the end of the year, possibly in time for the big holiday shopping season.



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Apple is moving its Bellevue Square Washington store from its 4,600 square-foot location on the ground floor to a second level retail...
 

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His Shadow

One need only look at Apple's financials to realize Apple needs no help luring customers away from anyone...

May 12 2011 at 8:45 PM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
Cy Starkman

True story

An old Italian once said to me..

Customers are lazy, they don't like obstacles. Even a couple of steps or a recess to your store will stop them.

Experience has shown me it is true.

Moving away from ground floor, depending on building design is not a good move.

May 12 2011 at 7:06 PM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
ngmo.jp

Regardless, customer service will still suck no matter how big the store is! I hope they hire more employees, because Seattle has some of the meanest genius' around! Alderwood mall almost staged a walk-out! The U-square one has so-so service.... Maybe Washingtonians should be nicer... Or apple should out-source it's employees!

May 12 2011 at 6:04 PM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
1 reply to ngmo.jp's comment
mlokubo

seattleites just suck. most are just unfriendly, cliquish, passive-aggressive assbags with a vitamin D deficiency. it's especially apparent in the way they drive.

look up "Seattle Freeze" for more facts on the well documented inhuman nature of the average Seattle resident.

May 13 2011 at 2:40 AM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
elZorro

There is a similar situation in the Mall of America in Minneapolis: the Apple and Microsoft stores are directly across from each other. The worst part is how similar Microsoft made their store design to Apple's. Same glass and steel theme, only with some orange in it.

May 12 2011 at 4:45 PM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
OlsonBW

I'm in there at least a couple times a month. That store is definitely too small. I'm very happy they are moving to a bigger place. It currently is on the same floor (1st/bottom) and on the same side. There are about four or five stores in between. I love the fact that the new store will be "looking down" on the MS store.

The Apple store is always busy. The MS store isn't. They should have swapped places based on the number of people in each of them.

May 12 2011 at 2:32 PM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
Mr Lizard

The Microsoft store has customers?

May 12 2011 at 1:31 PM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
Buzz

All those micro softies are crowing about how they "chased" Apple away.

In other news, the Windows Phone continues to decimate iPhone sales...

May 12 2011 at 1:31 PM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
PtG

I have been there. Apple needs more space, they are packed. They also have over twice/three/four(?) the customers of the Microsoft store. Pretty normal for stores to move for more (or less) space.

May 12 2011 at 12:51 PM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
Markdbenedict

If the Bellvue MS store is anything Iike the one in Oakbrook, IL ...there would be no one for Apple to lure away. I passed by the MS store 3 times in three days and didn't see a single customer...in a huge store...at the same time the Apple store was at capacity.

May 12 2011 at 12:26 PM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
2 replies to Markdbenedict's comment
tv

The Oakbrook Store can stand to be bigger..

Isn't there plenty of retail upstairs right above it?

I rarely, if ever, go upstairs (I know there was a few shoe stores & Norditrack right above that location)

May 12 2011 at 12:42 PM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
mlokubo

Bellsquare mall is in Bellevue, which has it's own Microsoft tower located blocks away at the Bravern, MS offices in Lincoln Square, which is attached by skybridge to Bellsquare. not to mention, Redmond is adjacent to Bellevue, with the main campus less than 5 minutes away from the malls and offices in question.

that said, they have a never ending stream of employees who are "encouraged" to frequent the MS store during and after normal office hours to help make them look "trafficked."

May 13 2011 at 2:35 AM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
travisgamedev

MS has some great products that are a result of 20 years of evolution. They don't need a store front as their products aren't revolutionary in changing the industry in a short period of time. I would love to go to a MS museum. They have a rich history. Their past is more interesting than their future.

May 12 2011 at 12:09 PM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
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