Just spotted a piece on ENN from the Sunday Tribune, Apple are looking into opening a store in Dublin. As a recent Mac convert I think that would be great, the MacBook Pro is a wonderful laptop and I'd like to have a proper Apple Store to browse and a Genius Bar to bring any problems to. The resellers in Ireland get screwed by Apple when it comes to stock of new tech. The 17" unibody MacBook Pro was a prime example. I didn't want to buy one without seeing it in the flesh, so to speak, but it was months before any were available in stores in Dublin.
The former Habitat Store and the Dunnes store on Grafton St are both mentioned as possible locations. I think Grafton St is more likely since it would have more footfall and the Habitat Store would probably be too large for the Irish market, unless Apple can get the store lease cheap and don't care about filling all the space. It would be the nicer profile building and Apple like their fancy store frontage.
Now of course all that should be taken with a grain of salt. The Irish market small enough to start with is now in recession/depression so Apple could still decide there is no long term future here. Interestingly the Sunday Tribune article also mentions Abercrombie & Fitch who were looking into setting up an Irish store but decided against it because Grafton St is "run-down". They might have a point, the gloss is leaving Grafton St, too many phone shops, burger joints and closed stores.
The former Habitat Store and the Dunnes store on Grafton St are both mentioned as possible locations. I think Grafton St is more likely since it would have more footfall and the Habitat Store would probably be too large for the Irish market, unless Apple can get the store lease cheap and don't care about filling all the space. It would be the nicer profile building and Apple like their fancy store frontage.
Now of course all that should be taken with a grain of salt. The Irish market small enough to start with is now in recession/depression so Apple could still decide there is no long term future here. Interestingly the Sunday Tribune article also mentions Abercrombie & Fitch who were looking into setting up an Irish store but decided against it because Grafton St is "run-down". They might have a point, the gloss is leaving Grafton St, too many phone shops, burger joints and closed stores.
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