KEY POINTS:
Today, before the grand opening at 5pm, I had a look through the very newest possible Mac store in the Southern Hemisphere, if not the world. And what can I say? It's cool.
Now, don't confuse this with an 'Apple Store'. Yes, it's a store that sells Apple
products, and yes Apple helped with design aspects and layout, but since the store is not owned by Apple, it is not an Apple Store.
But it's the closest thing New Zealand has ever had to an Apple Store. Billed as an Apple Premium Reseller, Renaissance and MagnumMac staff were on hand to conduct a tour and answer questions before the big public opening Friday 7th November at 5pm, including a concert by popular New Zealand band Op Shop at 8pm (be warned, space is limited to see the band).
You might think opening a brand new retail store in the current climate is madness, but it's not. It's astute. Apple is still growing strongly as a brand and an opportunity to get a good, big store right on Broadway would simply be too good to pass up under most circumstances. A buoyant Paul Johnston, CEO of Renaissance Corporation, cited the continuing growth of Apple product sales in New Zealand and went on to mention plans for another new shop with a similar appeal destined for Christchurch.
And what is that appeal, apart from great Apple products? Big, open, clear layout, well trained staff, and an Expert Bar ('Genius Bar' is an Apple trademark). So not only can you now wonder in and get free Mac problem solving and advice, there is a well designed seminar room available for training and for product presentations by companies like Canon, Epson, Adobe and Microsoft. As you move around you become engaged in specialist areas set up for digital photography, video and audio.
MagnumMac Marketing Manager Stephen Wright said the aim was to enable the chance for consumers to test drive every Apple product, from the slimmest notebooks through to the heavyweight Mac Pro towers and 30-inch Cinema displays.
"We believe that Apple technology is the coolest technology on the planet – the shopping experience should reflect that," Wright noted in today's press release. Huzzah.
Murray Wood was on hand today too – Murray founded the MagnumMac chain many years ago and sold the operation to Renaissance last year. He's now on the Renaissance board – an accomplished musician, he used to play with one of the Op Shop guy's fathers and threatened to get up there on stage tonight. There are currently also MagnumMac outlets in Albany, New Plymouth, Hamilton, Wellington, Christchurch and Dunedin – it's the biggest Apple reseller in New Zealand by far, and the new flagship store in at 123 Broadway, Newmarket certainly cements MagnumMac's dominance.
There's a well selected range of third-party goods on sale, from games through to Belkin accessories, Canon cameras and printers, Epson printers and scanners, Bose sound equipment, LaCie hard drives plus software from Apple, FileMaker, Microsoft, Adobe and other developers.
Everything is bathed in light. Ian Matsell, the manager from the soon-to-close Newton-based MagnumMac shop, has been dreaming of opening an Apple-selling store like this for years and has spent the two months immersed in the design and development of this new space. He was justifiably proud of his and his staff's achievement – it's spacious and well laid out. You enter the front doors under the redesigned MagnumMac logo on Broadway then ascend a staircase to left or right into the main retail area.
You'll have trouble darting in for a quick look, I imagine. You may be there a lot longer than you intended – and if you PC users want to see what the Apple experience is all about, here's your chance to check out the equipment first hand and to talk to experts experienced on both platforms.
And if you get to read this before the 5pm opening, head down there for the chance of prizes and giveaways.
- Mark Webster mac.nz