Apple re-seller plans to take on bigger store
9:30am Friday 16th November 2012 in Latest News
Tom Bell and manager Ali Hoff
THE growing popularity of iPads has forced a computer shop in The Brunel Centre to relocate.
Western Computer, a premium Apple re-seller, opened in the arcade in 2007 but is set to close on Saturday because it needs a larger store to provide more display space for iPads. As a result, it intends to relocate to Cirencester.
Bosses at the store, which currently has room to showcase four of the mini computers, said they had looked for other units in Swindon but they were either too big or too small, so they went for the Cirencester unit, which has space to display at least eight of the terminals.
The three full-time staff will move directly across.
Western Computer has units across the UK, including in Bristol, Oxford, Leamington Spa, Cheltenham and Preston.
Ali Hoff, the Swindon store manager, said: “We looked in Swindon for ages for a new unit. All the units in this centre were too small.
“The only other thing that was available was one of the units near Top Man and Top Shop, the huge glass-fronted units, but they were too big.
“There were literally no units of the right size and we wanted to get it done before Christmas. So something came up and it was a good idea. We thought, why not?”
Ali said about 90 per cent of the customers they asked said they would visit the Cirencester shop, so there was little risk of losing custom. He said posters about the relocation would go up in the shop window soon and some customers had also been informed by email.
He said: “We tell everybody now because we don’t want people turning up when we aren’t here. Nine out of 10 people are saying they go to Cirencester on a monthly basis anyway for either their shopping or to visit friends and family and so on. It’s very rare that people have said they don’t go there already.
“Obviously you can get an iPad from anywhere but not the experience of coming into this shop. I think it’s probably the best place to come and get one in the town, so I think people will travel.
“The customer service we offer here is completely different from going into another High Street shop and I think people honestly will travel to Cirencester to get that sort of experience.
“The new store is very much like the actual Apple stores as well. We’re what’s called a premium re-seller but the new stores look very much like the official Apple stores now, so all the furniture looks pretty much the same.”
Comments(18)
PaulD
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9:42am Fri 16 Nov 12
src
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9:48am Fri 16 Nov 12
PaulD
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9:51am Fri 16 Nov 12
pettefar
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10:16am Fri 16 Nov 12
LordAshOfTheBrake
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11:17am Fri 16 Nov 12
The Artist formally known as Grumpy Old Man
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12:15pm Fri 16 Nov 12
dc the 2nd
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12:18pm Fri 16 Nov 12
Guv
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1:23pm Fri 16 Nov 12
Bangtidy
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1:49pm Fri 16 Nov 12
Al Smith
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3:12pm Fri 16 Nov 12
src wrote:Exactly.
Would Swindon Residents really go to Cirencester on a shopping trip? If I was making that much effort I would go to Bristol.
I certainly wouldn't go to Cirencester to buy a computer. Bath, Bristol and Reading all have proper Apple Stores.
Whilst the rent may be cheaper in Cirencester I suspect the number of customers will be smaller.
I wonder what the real reason is (especially if business is that good)?
I'd be very surprised indeed if Apple wanted to open one of their official stores in Swindon, but that could explain the inability to find a empty store unit in Swindon.
tucker81
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5:01pm Fri 16 Nov 12
tucker81
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5:03pm Fri 16 Nov 12
semitonic
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5:42pm Fri 16 Nov 12
Apple products are obsolete before you get them out of the box anyway and soon they'll have so many patent rights on the products we'll all want from other companies that we'll have to pay an 'Apple tax' to own them. Greedy rotters.
gambon
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7:33am Sat 17 Nov 12
Captain T
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9:25am Sat 17 Nov 12
But in all seriousness, you can buy all the Apple products at John Lewis at Mannington anyway. I bet thats the reason for leaving. And the staff there are far more pleasant than the guys at Western.
dc the 2nd
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9:55am Sat 17 Nov 12
batch
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1:31pm Sat 17 Nov 12
Hasn't even got a Cinema any more, Swindon will soon have 3 :)
Guv says...
9:37am Fri 16 Nov 12
Shame, I have purchased so many items from you, yes the support is good, but you are letting down your customers moving out of town.