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Apple in talks for Sarasota, Florida retail location

by Steven Sande May 26th 2011 at 1:00PM

The Sarasota Herald-Tribune is reporting that the owner of the Westfield Southgate retail mall is attempting to lure an Apple Store to the Florida location, possibly by the end of 2011.

Mall owner Westfield Corp. cited the results of recent customer surveys, which indicated that visitors to the shopping haven wanted an Apple Store more than any other retail outlet. For Sarasota residents, having a local Apple Store would eliminate a 55-mile drive to either the Brandon Town Center or Tampa International Plaza stores, or further to the two stores in the vicinity of Naples, Florida.

As the newspaper notes, analysts maintain that the Sarasota area possesses "plentiful discretionary income." We can only hope that Apple retail officials decide to help Sarasota residents part with some of that income in exchange for shiny electronic goods.



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The Sarasota Herald-Tribune is reporting that the owner of the Westfield Southgate retail mall is attempting to lure an Apple Store to...
 

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16 Comments

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Dallas

This is long overdue! So stoked, hope it pans out!

May 28 2011 at 6:50 AM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
glenn

Don't say this unless you mean it.
DON'T SAY IT UNLESS YOU MEAN IT APPLE!

(any one wanna guess where I live?)

May 27 2011 at 6:57 PM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
randy

There is already an authorised Apple reseller in Bradenton on US 41 just west of the airport. I go there to look when Apple releases new stuff, but really, it's just as easy to order things online nowadays.

May 26 2011 at 9:24 PM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
Paul

Oops! We are new to the area. I guarantee my wife would have known I was looking at the wrong mall. But anywhere in Sarasota would make me happy.

May 26 2011 at 8:57 PM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
Mark

@Paul
Costco is going in the Sarasota Square mall.

May 26 2011 at 4:52 PM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
Tom

Westgate would work fine. It has the usual suspect list of high end chain stores Apple likes as neighbors. Is only ten minutes at most from 75 but also convenient to downtown and beach communities.

I would have thought that St Armand's Circle would be an interesting choice. It offers a fair amount of tourist traffic all on foot mostly window shopping which is perfect for Apple to lure in new customers much as they do on Lincoln Road on SoBe and other locations.

Part of the reason why Apple Stores have been so successful at increasing Apple's brand strength is because they've put people in front of Apple's who had never had the opportunity before and ended converts.

Either location, this is a necessity. I'm sick of driving to Brandon and the demos are perfect for Apple in Sarasota.

May 26 2011 at 3:42 PM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
Moises Cueto

The Western suburbs of South Fl would be a good spot. Plantation or Weston would do very well for them and bring in lots of people from the surrounding area

May 26 2011 at 3:05 PM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
Paul

And it would mean Cosco an Apple at the same place. No need to go anywhere else.

May 26 2011 at 2:42 PM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
1 reply to Paul's comment
glenn

where is there a cosco here?

Bj's Warehouse off univ, sams off fruitville, no cosco

May 27 2011 at 6:59 PM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
Paul

!!!!! That's only 20 minutes from my house !!!!

May 26 2011 at 2:41 PM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
Xan

The problem with the Westfield mall location in Sarasota is that its a very small mall, takes forever to get to from interstate 75 since its on Bee Ridge, and its right across the street from a Best Buy that has a full Apple area. Normally I wouldn't go against another Apple store going up, but in Apple's case I don't think thats a very good location. There is a huge build up going on in the University area of Sarasota and I think that would be a better location as they would be right next to Lakewood Ranch and wouldn't be as hard to get to for the other parts of Sarasota.

May 26 2011 at 2:40 PM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
2 replies to Xan's comment
Jay

I think your concerns are overstated. Yes Apple likes to be near Interstates, but its only 4 miles to the proposed site from I-75. Bee Ridge is a major artery that moves quickly, not to mention that US 41 is an even bigger N/S artery. I also think your concerns are offset by the convenient location it would be for the big money of Longboat Key, Siesta Key, and Casey Key. As for the Best Buy near by, that would never be mistaken for the Apple Store experience!

May 26 2011 at 9:27 PM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
glenn

It should be off of Univ in the new area of the Mall. It may be near bestbuy, but that isn't of any real concern. Come on, it's best buy (hehe)

May 27 2011 at 7:03 PM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
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