# Apple store in Montreal??



## alphonse101 (Feb 14, 2005)

Is it true what I heard that there are planning to open an Apple store in Montreal? acctually I read it somewhere but could not know if it was true.


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## RicktheChemist (Jul 18, 2001)

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## iMatt (Dec 3, 2004)

No offense to the remaining resellers, but the demise of BMac left a huge void downtown. CompuSmart is better than Future Shop ever was, but a couple hundred square feet in the corner of a Wintel store is no substitute for an Apple emporium. (And it seems that like Future Shop, Dumoulin no longer carries Apple gear, further reducing availability and exposure.) I say bring it on.


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## Lawrence (Mar 11, 2003)

alphonse101 said:


> Is it true what I heard that there are planning to open an Apple store in Montreal? acctually I read it somewhere but could not know if it was true.


That'd be really nice if it is true,
Cept...I wonder if Apple would know how to add the tax on tax?  

D


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## VertiGoGo (Aug 21, 2001)

iMatt said:


> No offense to the remaining resellers, but the demise of BMac left a huge void downtown. CompuSmart is better than Future Shop ever was, but a couple hundred square feet in the corner of a Wintel store is no substitute for an Apple emporium. (And it seems that like Future Shop, Dumoulin no longer carries Apple gear, further reducing availability and exposure.) I say bring it on.


Don't forget MicroServ in Dorval! They're a great store...with a larger selection of stuffon the floor than B.Mac ever had. 

An Apple Store would be cool...but it could totally ruin those guys.


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## iMatt (Dec 3, 2004)

Dorval isn't exactly downtown, though. Surely there's room for Apple downtown plus a major reseller in the West Island...and I can't imagine Apple not taking a prime downtown location for its first Montreal store, whenever it may open.


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## CreatureBeeper (Dec 7, 2004)

Downtown Montreal is hurting for a good dedicated Mac store. I'd prefer a good independently owned one, but will settle for a corporate store in the absence of anything else or all the really poor support for Mac currently downtown.


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## trump (Dec 7, 2004)

the Rumour is that there are 4 Canadian apple stores on the books, I've been following this for a long time and this is my opinion of what's to come:
1. Toronto - Yorkdale (confirmed, speculation says it is not a flagship)
2. Montreal- ?
3. Vancouver - Robson St. (unconfirmed, likely choice though)
4. Toronto - Eaton Centre or Queen St. (unconfirmed, would be a Flagship in a dense, high traffic area, with an outdoor store front)


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## RicktheChemist (Jul 18, 2001)

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## macsackbut (Dec 15, 2004)

Well, i have no idea where they might set up, but I can think of at least two good locations along Sainte-Catherine: Place Déjardins, or somewhere along the strip between McGill College and Peel. Both are pretty high-rent districts though, so I'm probably dreaming. We can dream can't we? ;-)

MacS


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## gmark2000 (Jun 4, 2003)

While on St-Catherine, how about right next to _Le Club Supersex_?


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## Willy Z (Oct 25, 2004)

gmark2000 said:


> While on St-Catherine, how about right next to _Le Club Supersex_?


McDonald's already offers a MAC daddy menu there , for adults only...


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## iMatt (Dec 3, 2004)

macsackbut said:


> Well, i have no idea where they might set up, but I can think of at least two good locations along Sainte-Catherine: Place Déjardins, or somewhere along the strip between McGill College and Peel. Both are pretty high-rent districts though, so I'm probably dreaming. We can dream can't we? ;-)
> 
> MacS



I can think of an obvious space: isn't Les Ailes bailing out of its part of the old Eaton's store? Could be interesting, even though Archambault and the SAQ have the best spots right now. I don't like the idea of a Desjardins location because everything in there except Music World and the street-facing chain restos is out of sight, out of mind. What about St-Denis? Fancy shopping galore, not much in the way of electronics. 

Anyway, I'm sure none of it's too high-rent by American megacorp standards...in fact, compared to comparable locations in major cities like NYC or Chicago I'd bet that anywhere in downtown Montreal is downright cheap.


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## RicktheChemist (Jul 18, 2001)

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## macsackbut (Dec 15, 2004)

iMatt said:


> I can think of an obvious space: isn't Les Ailes bailing out of its part of the old Eaton's store?


Yeah, I think that would be great too. 

Not sure about the Old Port though, RickTC; that's not excactly a retail mecca. I suppose they could cut a sponsorship deal with the Science Centre and move in there (not a realistic proposal... space is at a premium there already). In general, Old Montreal doesn't really fit to my mind, unless more down toward the west end, near the Cité de la technologie, which is a bit more modern but also out of the way. 

MacS


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## iMatt (Dec 3, 2004)

I'm with macsackbut on the Old Port...that's really more of a tourism and recreation than a shopping area. I could see a store having a place near the McGill St./World Trade/Square Victoria area, but not a major flagship.

The main Ste-Catherine strip roughly between The Bay and Guy St. still seems the likeliest general area. 

And just to clarify, when I mentioned St-Denis I didn't mean at the corner of Ste-Catherine, but the fancy strip in the Plateau between Sherbrooke and Laurier.


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## gmark2000 (Jun 4, 2003)

Are there any upscale indoor malls in Montreal? Yorkdale in Toronto has so many American chains like the Gap, Williams-Sonoma, Pottery Barn that seem to be critical mix of fashionable merchants. It's very much like the Walden Galleria in Buffalo.

I know the location downtown where Les Ailes is nice, but there's so much riff-raff on the streets who'd shoplift the Apple Store empty.


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## Mantat (Aug 22, 2003)

gmark2000 said:


> I know the location downtown where Les Ailes is nice, but there's so much riff-raff on the streets who'd shoplift the Apple Store empty.


You have no idea how right you are!

I had a friend who worked at GAP and she told me that they lost more than 1k$ of clothing per DAY! That is why they increased the number of employee and put some guards. Oh.. and who were the robbers? Woman!!! woman tend to be shoplifters more than man, even more so in baby cloths stores. 

I think the Centre les Ailes would be the location chosen by Apple but I dont think it would be a good one. There arent a lot of people walking by in this area. Best bet would be in the Eaton center or make a mini store on St Cath. 

The plateau wouldnt be a good spot. The psychology of the clients there is very specific, they only want to buy coffe or overpriced special gifts. 

When I think about it, one of the problem with all these location is that computers are heavy, so I dont know how they would deal with the fact that you cant park your car close to the store to bring the computer box... This just remember me how painfull it was to transport my moms eMac by bus... :-S


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## gmark2000 (Jun 4, 2003)

Okay... Brossard???


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## Willy Z (Oct 25, 2004)

Place Ville Marie could be a place for the Apple Store.

Now that Movenpick closed, there is a huuuuuuge area available.

it's downtown, has a lot of people going by...though not as much as on ste-catherine, but is easily accessible, by train, subway, or car.(2 Highways nearby)...

they just have to get a deal on the rent, that's what made movenpick move out.

As for Le Plateau.... I'm totaly for, on st denis, anywhere between sherbrooke and laurier is within a walking distance


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## iMatt (Dec 3, 2004)

GMark, Brossard is not "downtown" any way you slice it. For all I know, there's already a Mac superstore out there and nobody on the island has heard of it.

There is an absurd amount of high-end indoor mall space downtown. If Apple really is looking at a Montreal store and wants that kind of space, Place Montréal Trust and Les Cours Mont-Royal jump to mind. There are others, of which Les Ailes is one (albeit failed so far since its conversion from Eaton's).

Mantat, the Eaton Centre and Les Ailes complex are right next door to each other and actually connected. Yet one has enough foot traffic and the other doesn't?  The mistake Les Ailes made was not putting the main entrance to their store right on Ste-Catherine. Anyone could have told them that was a big mistake. (And many did after it was too late.) Presumably Apple would not make the same mistake. So I guess we agree in a way: the Les Ailes complex is only appropriate if it includes a Ste-Catherine storefront.

Anyway, this is one of the busiest parts of downtown. It may have more "riff raff" than similar areas in other cities, but that's only because Ste-Catherine hasn't been totally sanitized; it still has a mix of everything from lowly dives to luxurious stuff and everything in between. (Which is a big reason so many people love it.) It also happens to be where a wide range of electronics and computer stores can be found; do not underestimate the value of being within walking distance of the competition. I also question the logic of extrapolating a shoplifting problem in one clothing store to anything else. Maybe we should look into shoplifting at the Dumoulin store near Bleury?

Mantat is probably right about the Plateau, at least for a full-featured store. But imagine an iPod-oriented store. Goldmine.


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## gmark2000 (Jun 4, 2003)

iMatt said:


> Anyway, this is one of the busiest parts of downtown. It may have more "riff raff" than similar areas in other cities, but that's only because Ste-Catherine hasn't been totally sanitized; it still has a mix of everything from lowly dives to luxurious stuff and everything in between. (Which is a big reason so many people love it.)


This certainly was my impression of Ste-Catherine's storefronts and pedestrian traffic. Not wholly gentrified to have homogenous upscale boutiques. It's like Toronto's Bloor Street and Yonge Street all mixed together (or Vancouver's Robson Street and East Hastings Street). To tell you the truth, I found some of the people on the street kinda scary (gangstas/gypsies/streetkids). I don't think that Steve Jobs would like this scene.

I only mentioned Brossard because there's a nice suburban mall there with a Les Ailes store.


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## iMatt (Dec 3, 2004)

Yes, it's certainly grittier than what most upscale non-Montrealers are used to. However, I don't think fear of the kids you mention is justified: there truly is safety in numbers. The time to be afraid when walking down a city street is when you can't see anyone, or when all the people you can see are thugs. When there's a mix and it's crowded like on Ste-Catherine, you're on neutral ground. Don't let your wallet be easy pickings (which it should never be anyway), and that's about all you need to do. As for shoplifting, I'm sure it's a problem everywhere. If the Gap is bleeding $300 K/year downtown, that's not to say it isn't doing the same in the trendy Plateau.

The ideal location would probably be at Ste-Catherine and McGill College. Too bad it's all sewn up (AFAIK), but there's lots of other prime spots in the area. I can envision them going for suburban malls in the future, but for now downtown really is the worst-served part of the city in terms of Macintosh retail visibility.


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## eeBee (Feb 27, 2005)

What about the building where Sam the Records Man used to be?, OK it's a pretty ugly building but you can lift it up...


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## HJS (Sep 12, 2003)

gmark2000 said:


> This certainly was my impression of Ste-Catherine's storefronts and pedestrian traffic. Not wholly gentrified to have homogenous upscale boutiques. It's like Toronto's Bloor Street and Yonge Street all mixed together (or Vancouver's Robson Street and East Hastings Street). To tell you the truth, I found some of the people on the street kinda scary (gangstas/gypsies/streetkids). I don't think that Steve Jobs would like this scene.
> 
> I only mentioned Brossard because there's a nice suburban mall there with a Les Ailes store.


I guess you've never been to downtown SF or Soho in NYC  

Brossard is quite a bit out of the way, like opening a store in Scarberia...

Know of one prime spot in Montreal-we emailed S. Jobs when it was available a couple of years ago- but I'm not sure how keen the Quebec Mac Mafia is on having Apple move in downtown. BMac blew it, for sure...their main location(outside of core) was terrible, and the downtown location had no street presence at all.


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## gmark2000 (Jun 4, 2003)

HJS said:


> I guess you've never been to downtown SF or Soho in NYC


I have. 

The nasty Tenderloin district in SF is not so scary in as much as there's a lot of drunks and druggies that wander into the neighbouring touristy Union Square area to panhandle. Otherwise San Fran is one of the coolest cities to visit.

As for SoHo in NYC, I've been to the Apple Store there. It's not scary at all with all the design stores and funky boutiques. Giuliani cleaned up NYC so much, even Hell's Kitchen, Harlem and Alphabet City look respectable (especially the Disneyfied Times Square area).


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## domRebel (Mar 29, 2005)

Does anyone know of the "Apple Store" on Decarie address is 6615 Parc Avenue, I haven't been there yet but I might give them a call because I need my ipod fixed.


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## JKD (Jan 20, 2003)

*The Apple Store will be on the Main*

My bet is the Apple store will be on St. Lawrence.

They will model the storefront like that place across from the Shed next to SoftImage.

Loft type space, Soho style, young hipster walking traffic with a few bucks = good fit IMHO.

JKD


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## iMatt (Dec 3, 2004)

JKD said:


> My bet is the Apple store will be on St. Lawrence.
> 
> They will model the storefront like that place across from the Shed next to SoftImage.


Do you mean Ex-Centris, or the retail spaces at street-level in the Softimage building? I guess it can't be Ex-Centris, considering this description:



JKD said:


> Loft type space, Soho style, young hipster walking traffic with a few bucks = good fit IMHO.


I tend to agree that general area would be a good one for Apple, but there's a slight hitch: a shortage of suitable spaces in the area, at least for any kind of flagship store. There always seems to be a resto or boutique going under around there, but most of the spaces are pretty small.

Then there's the block of St-Laurent between Sherbrooke and de Maisonneuve. It's been pretty grim for years now, but part of the idea behind the new Hotel Godin is to give a boost to that stretch. Could be interesting for Apple to be there, especially closer to Sherbrooke (near where Dumoulin is now). It would create a weird mix of stores, at least at first: miscellaneous junk, crap electronics, ordinary consumer electronics/PCs, Apple.


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