Ondrej Holzman On Wednesday, June 26, 6, Apple opened its online store in Russia after a long wait. Until now, only certified dealers sold its products. Now the Russians can buy goods directly from the Californian company, which is here possible for almost two years. Like us, the Russians are still waiting for their first brick-and-mortar Apple Store.
As for the Apple Online Store, it is completely localized into the Russian language, including live chat support as well as a telephone assistant. Russians can choose from Apple's complete range, and there is also a large number of accessories from various manufacturers.
According to some reports, Apple was not satisfied with the current distribution network that operates in Russia, especially regarding iPhones, so it decided to enter this large market on its own. However, it still does not have a physical presence in the Eastern superpower, which is why any complaints are handled through the post office. In Russia, however, in addition to this option, there are also authorized services that deal with damaged products.
They waited five years in Russia for the Apple Online Store. Even the iTunes Store has not been on the Russian market for too long, an online store with music and movies it only arrived at the end of last year. However, Apple's increased activity in Russia probably does not indicate that they could expect a brick-and-mortar Apple Store in Moscow.
According to the information we got from the server AppleInsider.ru, Apple is not yet planning to take a similar step in Russia. There was more talk about the Russian Apple Store two years ago, for example, when then head of sales Ron Johnson allegedly visited Moscow. He should have looked for the best location for an apple store. In the end, Red Square was supposed to be chosen, however, two years have already passed, Johnson has left Apple, and the Apple Store in Russia is still not open.
So Moscow will have to wait some time for its first Apple Store, just like Prague. And that is precisely the reason why we mention and examine the situation in Russia regarding the brick-and-mortar apple trade. Although Russia is much further to the east of the United States, in our opinion it is possible that the Czech fate regarding the Apple Store may be closely connected with that of Russia. Although the iTunes Store was in our country more than a year earlier, a physical presence in the given country is a much more significant step for Apple, and the Russian market could be at least as interesting for the Californian company as the Czech one, albeit more western but significantly smaller.
One thing is certain – Apple is expanding more or less noticeably and becoming a global company. When it will cover the whole world with its stores remains an unanswered question.
Printing photo books from iPhoto would be more than enough for me. I would not go to Prague for business.
I don't know why anyone still longs for an Apple store. As they admitted at WWDC, their stores are only in fourteen countries in the world, and the Czech Republic is probably the last place they would like to open one. It's not even in Vienna, and that's a much more visited city than Prague with much higher income of people than here. And if someone can't live without an Apple store, the closest one is, I think, in Munich.
I don't know why the Czech Republic should be so uninteresting for Apple in terms of building an Apple store. If you have charts that say so, please submit them. I also don't quite understand why they should "admit" the number of countries in which they operate their stores. Their list and thus the number is after all public information (even if it wasn't). And the closest to us is the one in Dresden. The only thing you are right about is perhaps the salary evaluation of the residents. Delusions, delusions, delusions….
I can start speculating why there isn't even an online store in Slovakia. It could be, but it isn't.
So find out for yourself, if you want numbers, how many people will go through the Apple story, and then recalculate it to the Czech Republic, how many would have to come and buy in order for the Czech Apple store to meet the budget and sales that Apple requires. Just for information, these countries are USA, Canada, UK, Japan, Germany, France, Sweden, Switzerland, Italy, Netherlands, Spain, Hong Kong, China and Australia. So find out how strong the economies are and what the purchasing power is there and then compare it with the Czech Republic and you won't be surprised why Apple isn't there. And there is also a store in Munich, but it is probably not the closest, but it is accessible via the highway. That's why I mentioned him. Maybe it's delusions from your point of view, what I write, but as long as the store is not here, the truth is on my side. Personally, I think that when they open it in Vienna, then in twenty years after the Viennese one, maybe we will see it.
It would seem logical to me that Apple should have a presence in every country in the form of an official Apple store. Apple is already such a well-known and used brand that I don't see why they didn't set up such a store. Yes, we have Qstore, iStyle and other APR retailers, but it's just not the real deal. We have an Apple online store, so an Apple store could soon follow. And I think they wrote somewhere that it could be on Wenceslas Square.
It is not so difficult to estimate whether the Apple Store will be located on Vaclavak. It is hard to find a more exposed place in Prague.
at first glance, yes, but personally I would place it on an old-timer where it would stand out more. Wenceslas Square is such a popular place, Apple shouldn't want to have a store between a kfc and a meat shop... it would stand out beautifully on the old shop, there aren't that many consumer goods, it would be visible from a distance, exposed just like Wenceslas Square and the Parisian one is nearby