The possibilities of Apple Stores in Ireland...
In the last few years there have been many changes in the presence of Apple products in the Irish marketplace. The first major change has been within mainstream stores in Irish retail spaces, with Apple products now available in 02 Experience stores, 3G and Spectra Photo. This is certainly a change in the market, as for years Apple products had been dogged by poor positioning in relatively few outlets. We certainly welcome the development in this direction. Apple hardware and software can be viewed, tried and enquired about in high street locations for the first time in many years.
In fact the arrival of the new crop of sellers came after the demise of PC retailer Compustore, and just in time to prevent the complete absence of Apple products in the centre of Dublin. The Compustore shop on Kildare Street was for many years the only prominent Apple outlet the heart of Dublin city. The collapse of Compustore left an impression in the consumer's mind that the "Apple store" had gone out of business (curiously this store used the Apple logo and the name "Apple Store" on its signage). The arrival of the 02 Experience store on Grafton Street re-established a presence for Apple and meant that the consumer could have a hands-on experience of the product before purchasing.
Around the time that the Compustore shop was open, the United States saw the first of the new Apple retail stores which was Apple's first venture into owning the whole customer experience. In 2001, Apple began to build and run their own retail outlets, and since then this has become the benchmark against which all retail experience of their products is judged. This is now carried through to other countries such as Japan, the United Kingdom, Canada and Italy. Anyone who has visited an Apple retail store, such as the one on Regent Street in London, will know about the unique experience of entering a genuine Apple shop, and will have seen the way in which Apple products are presented to the consumer, a far cry from many consumer experiences of the past.
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The Apple retail experience is one of detail, knowledge and presentation to would-be potential purchasers. The Genius bar, where Mac users can ask questions about their product such as support questions and technical queries, values the purchaser and builds the feeling of community for anyone moving into the Macintosh market. The Apple retail outlet is a sanctuary for the Macintosh user. In contrast, if you have visited the average PC store, such as PC World, you will very quickly feel and experience the difference between the technical jargon-based PC purchasing experience and the open friendly and supportive nature of the Apple retail store.
However, therein lies the problem for Dublin. Any Mac user who has visited London and the Regent Street store will be painfully aware of the absence of such a consumer experience in Ireland. Whilst the 02 store has moved the availability and presence of Apple products many steps forward, there is still no comparison to a genuine Apple run store. Consumers who have struggled for years to receive good customer service as a Mac user in Ireland will long for Apple's move into this country.
So how likely is it that Apple will launch a new retail store in Dublin or any part of Ireland? Given that Apple now have a number of stores throughout the United Kingdom, such as in London, Birmingham, Manchester, Kent and Southampton, it seems likely that extending these retail outlets into the only other English-speaking country in Europe would be a logical step. Apple have also entered the euro-zone by opening a store in Rome, and so there seems no barrier stopping Apple launching in Dublin, except maybe the issue of mass. They may consider that Dublin is too small to warrant a full Apple retail outlet, and indeed it's possible that Apple Ireland's view is that the Mac community is better served by partnerships with third-party companies, such as 02 and 3G.
There are two tiers in the experiences of a Macintosh customer. Firstly there is the purchase experience. As mentioned, this has improved dramatically in recent years, but the potential Macintosh purchaser still faces issues when walking into a store. The current crop of outlets normally stock a very selective range of hardware and software products. It is extremely difficult to find any store stocking a wide range of software titles and so the option of 'browsing', or dropping into a store to pick up an accessory, really doesn't exist in the Irish marketplace.
The second tier is that of support and service. In our own personal experience this has been one of the most difficult aspects of being a Macintosh user in Ireland. Up until about two years ago AppleCare warranty normally offered a level of support and security as, in the event of a hardware failure, Apple would collect the Mac via courier, repair and return it. Although AppleCare isn't cheap, we felt it was a price worth paying to provide a full service from end to end. However in 2006 Apple appeared to withdraw the direct courier service, leaving consumers dependent on third-party repair agents. Our direct experience, and the experience of our clients, is that we have found these third-party agents to be in many cases below the standard we would expect from Apple. We have encountered problems with delays in repair, lack of good quality customer service, and issues around delivery and collection. Quite why Apple withdrew the full AppleCare service in Ireland is unclear. We have contacted Apple on three separate occasions looking for answers, but have yet to receive a full response.
We strongly believe that the introduction of Apple retail stores in Ireland is simply a matter of time and we would strongly welcome any such move. The services currently being offered pale in comparison to a genuine Apple retail store, and we hope that the experience which is now available in the UK and other countries will soon come to these shores.
Simon Spence/2007