right on.

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Freudian Slips: when you say one thing but mean your mother

I completely agree.

I really don't want to toot my own horn here, but Uarts students starting this year already get MacBook Pros fully loaded with software. Fully insured and serviced through the school.

I myself even work for academic computing. When dealing with repairs, having an apple store in close proximity I think would really come in hand even in our case. Certain repairs are going to be sent to California and the student is in a for a good 3 week wait, but I can definitely see the benefits of having an apple store here in CC for minor repair issues not coverable at the school without being shipped out. When we do refer students to Bundie or Springboard they don't have a clue. They want and trust apple.

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Although some of the detractors are being rather crass, I have to somewhat agree-Philadelphians have alot around them, yet hate the concept of traveling. Meanwhile, the affluent customer base seems determined to venture to suburban malls rather than deal with downtown shopping.

Respectfully, the retail climate is not conducive to apple. They do not need anything. They demand. Although they are painted as the epitome of coolness, the simple fact is that they are a soulless corporation just as GE, Merck, Glaxo, etc. Numbers talk and B.S. walks, and the numbers aren't great for corporate retail.

Our consumer indexes show that we have an above average crime risk of over 2 1/4 times over the national average while spending significantly less(about 3/4 the amount) on standard living and entertainment expenses. Our robbery average is over 6 times the norm. What does this mean? This city has less money to give to Apple while providing more crime-which involves more employee costs to deter things like shoplifting, larceny, and internal thefts from employees.

In tagging why apple should come to center city, many have unknowingly cited why apple doesn't need center city. Anyone can say that college kids buy macs, but why do they? Besides the inclination towards macs for the graphic arts, apple's education sector has developed brilliant marketing and financing strategies with schools to ensure that any kid who wants a mac, gets one at a discounted rate and low cost financing options. Apple's retail department will never cannibalize Apple's education department, as many relationships and strategic partnerships are in play that go far beyond getting an ibook into a student's hand for the semester. If you want to see how hilariously genius Apple's education department can be, here's one small example-and they do deals like this everyday:
http://hotair.com/archives/2007/04/0...-in-the-state/

And here's on for college:
http://media.www.dailyillini.com/med...-2747399.shtml

And now Apple's convincing colleges that students should be connected with Iphones:
http://iphone.macworld.com/2008/02/c...es_to_inco.php

Everyone of these sales goes through schools-not apple stores. Apple stores do not accept student discounts nor apple education loans(they do in England, but nowhere else). They are also not in the retail business to repair people's laptops every time a roommate spills beer on it. They do not make money from "minor repair issues". Do they offer this service? Of course; but their primary profit is selling retail units, not repairing products under warranty, or installing OSX10.5 into your grandmother's 6 year old computer you handed down to her(saw that in ardmore).

Before Apple's existence, Tiffany's Jewelry was the king of all retail. To give you a little perspective, here's a couple of simple numbers:

Average sales per sq. ft.
Best Buy: $930(top for electronics big box)
Tiffany's: $2,666(used to be top retail)
Apple: $4,032(holy %$#&!!!!!)

Apple does not have to come to you. They do not wish to take the moral high ground and setup somewhere to attract business to an area. They know that you and I will go to them. Their entire concept was invented by the same Target executive that convinced all of you that its cool to buy ChinaCrap and subsequently toilet paper at Target while booing WalMart for similar practices. In case anyone is keeping tabs, his name is Ron Johnson. While mac fans rant about Steve Job's brilliance, some retail insiders say Mr. Johnson has more to do with apple's success than even Steve himself.

Anyhow, in Apple's segmented strategy, we are saturated until the time is right for them. Best Buy has begun installing mini apple stores(ours is craptastic and manned by morons-I actually heard one worker tell a customer that windows and word were pre-installed in every mac and that's why they are cool). Our universities sell apple computers to students-at a discount, and with financing.

And yes, they can also buy an ipod, software, and accessories with the same educational discount.

And yes, we have springboard and bundy.

And yes, we do have several apple stores conveniently placed for the demographics who truly spend instead of wishing to window shop or pick up a $20 ipod cable every few months that their %&(# dog chews it(not that I'm talking from personal experience).

Students get financing and go to their student store.
Businesses get financing and go through apple.com or springboard media-who sells, installs, and performs on site service to apple computers. Apple stores won't do that.

Affluent center city dwellers, as usual, are going to Cherry Hill or KOP for their banana republic, coach, and apple fixes because shopping downtown is just so "bothersome without parking or concierge services" as my neighbors-and probably your neighbors-always say.

Even if you look at the center city district's map of average pedestrian traffic flow, there are only 2 or 3 corners in our entire city that are viable for them, and they are all currently leased. Apple has been known to buy out leases in NYC, but I don't think anyone's going to be budging anytime soon.

But who the hell knows. I've been wrong before.

I want an Apple store in CC for:
1- Genius bar
2- Mini Auditorium
3- Browsing and scoping out the goods

Springboard and (Al) Bundy provide none of the above.

i suspect a big reason there is no apple store in CC revolves around the rough edges that is philadelphia (a sharp contrast to the perfect/clean/minimal that is Apple). And to that i can only say to Apple "bite me".

As you were on the details in the parts of your post I left intact here.

Affluent Center City dwellers need not leave its confines for their Banana Republic or Coach fixes, nor do they need to trek out to KofP to drop large coin at Tiffany & Co., for all three of these stores have locations on "Rittenhouse Row." Coach moved there from Liberty Place.

If you live just south of Center City (which other posts of yours lead me to believe) and your neighbors are complaining about no parking, they're wimps and wusses.

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Sandy Smith, Exile on Market Street, Philadelphia
"Perpetual optimism is a force multiplier." --Gen. Colin Powell

We've had eight years of "decisive," "experienced" "leadership." Why not try intelligence this time around?

Thankyou for proving my point.

1.Doesn't make money
2. Doesn't make money
3. Doesn't make money

Apple is very aware of philly retail habits-and they are a business, not a community service. Those services are to accessorize and entice business-not as a focus of their business model.

And springboard does have a "genius bar". Sorry its not gleaming with tvs and-well, a bar. Their genius bar is called Dan or Everett, and they've been helping to point me into the right direction long before any apple store clerk misled and wasted my time over what was included with a laptop purchase.

Even at the 5th avenue store they've pulled back the ability to surf the internet so that people are not on the computers forever. Sites as simple as cnn.com, phila.gov, and yes-phillyblog.com cannot be viewed. Why did they tweak their "parental controls" to do this? Too many people were coming in and surfing for free while people intending to buy couldn't check out the merchandise. If it has reached that level in NY, imagine what it would be like in Philadelphia.

And yes El, my neighbors are "wimps and wusses", which is a chronic discussion between myself and Hospitalitygirl...but stating the obvious doesn't help the retail climate in downtown environments, as the problem isn't unique to Philadelphia's downtown commercial areas.

Don't get me wrong: I'm not among the poor deprived folk on this forum who are all morose because there's no gleaming glass cube selling Apple products in Center City.

But it seems evident to me that there must be enough non-wimpy, non-wussy, well-off people to support high-end retail if Tiffany, Coach, Cole Haan and Banana Republic all survive on Walnut west of Broad.

The difference may lie in the part of your post I cut out, which suggests that Apple Stores may be even better lurker magnets than they are selling machines. Apple definitely has it all over the Winteliverse in the coolness and design department, but most geeks -- and many non-geeks -- aren't fashion plates, or at least aren't when it comes to dropping coin on electronic gadgets. Apple products command a price premium, true, but only up to a point (as they found out to their chagrin with the iPhone), and that price premium serves as a built-in brake on the company's market share as well as an incentive for Apple not to open too many stores or stores where they're not sure the shopper/lurker ratio will be too low.

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Sandy Smith, Exile on Market Street, Philadelphia
"Perpetual optimism is a force multiplier." --Gen. Colin Powell

We've had eight years of "decisive," "experienced" "leadership." Why not try intelligence this time around?

How so? I thought the iPhone was universally considered a sales success, meeting or exceeding all sales targets since its introduction.

this is exactly what I think, and you couldn't have said it better- shopper/lurker ratio. I may have to use that in my future financial reports...hehe

the iphone is a different beast all together. I think they planned the price cut, they just didn't expect the backlash. Every cellphone company does the same thing. I remember when I bought a treo the day they came out because, as most americans, I needed it "now". Of course, as with razrs, crackberries, and everything in between-it significantly dropped in price soon after. This is why amex and other cards that offer price protection send out notices that cellphones will never be covered in their plans.

As glorified as apple has become, it is as easily scrutinized. They were mocked for the high price of the iphone, although treos have been just as expensive. They were called out about price cuts, although every cell company does it. They were scrutinized for not having 3g, although 99% of 3G phones can't even go on the internet, let alone have a worthy browser or email functionality.

Guess we'll see what happens with version 2 in a few weeks.

Main Subjects / Entertainment / Fairs / Amusement Park Rides / Merry-Go-Rounds
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