Apple Proposes New Block-Long Retail Store in Portland, Oregon

Apple does a lot of research before they put their stores in. If they're building one this large, they must know they can fill it. Apple isn't Starbucks, carpet-bombing cities with a store on every block hoping to do enough business, they pick and choose their locations very carefully to ensure each one is profitable. Apple Stores have some of the best return on square footage around.

It's not a matter of quantity of product lines, it's a matter of quantity of people wanting to see those product lines.

Honestly they need it. Because that's the first store over the border from Washington, it is really really really really crowded. Actually alot of people even just visiting buy from there because there's no taxes on anything in Portland. So you save like 200 plus on MacBooks and stuff which lets you get accessories for free

I heard Portland is getting a Gateway Country Store soon as well.

THE DREAM OF THE 90's IS ALIVE IN PORTLAND!

All to house Apple's 5 products no less. A museum of waste.
Portland is always talking their "Human Scale" and "Walkable small blocks".
I am referring to the downtown core. I lived in Portland for some years in the 90's. They are very small. Maybe 30 paces math man.,

Um, I think it's more to accommodate the foot traffic. Visitor who come to Portland for tax-free shopping excursions are most likely to go to the downtown location. A visible street-level store will probably drive even more shoppers. Good for the neighborhood stores as well as Apple.

For this to be waste, there would have to be a much better alternative use of this space. What's your proposal?

I heard Portland is getting a Gateway Country Store soon as well.

THE DREAM OF THE 90's IS ALIVE IN PORTLAND!

As a Portlander, I take complete offense to your statement. I'd much rather see a collaboration between Packard Bell and Prodigy than a Gateway store. ;)

Portland city blocks are half the size of normal big city blocks. So it should not be seen as HUGE. Get's a good headline though. 10-20 paces clears a block in PDX.

However, as reference points,the standard square blocks of Portland, Houston and Sacramento are 260 by 260 feet (79 × 79 m), 330 by 330 feet (100 × 100 m) and 410 by 410 feet (120 × 120 m) respectively (to the street center line). (However, as reference points,the standard square blocks of Portland, Houston and Sacramento are 260 by 260 feet (79 × 79 m), 330 by 330 feet (100 × 100 m) and 410 by 410 feet (120 × 120 m) respectively (to the street center line).)

Granted on average PDX blocks are not on the largest side of "city blocks", I would like to see you clear one in 10 to 20 paces.

This would still be the widest Apple store to date.
"Currently, the widest storefront is George Street (Sydney) at 120 feet. This proposed store would be 45 feet wider than that."http://www.ifoapplestore.com/db/2012/02/28/apple-proposes-spectacular-store-for-portland/ (http://www.ifoapplestore.com/db/2012/02/28/apple-proposes-spectacular-store-for-portland/)

So this would be a wide store in when talking Apple Stores.

All to house Apple's 5 products no less. A museum of waste.
Portland is always talking their "Human Scale" and "Walkable small blocks".
I am referring to the downtown core. I lived in Portland for some years in the 90's. They are very small. Maybe 30 paces math man.,

I live there now and I can tell you they need to expand at that location. The current store is *always* packed to the gills, it's a claustrophobe's nightmare.

I'm afraid this will be seen as corporate greed and targeted by the Take Over Portland mob. Targeted, after they hide their iPhones and iPods!

That's a lot of Windex :rolleyes::p

Although I wonder what this will do to the full-service authorized resellers that have been among Apple's strongest third-party resellers for decades?

Some are already gone (MacForce) and others have sucked since the 1990s ("Computer Stores NW" AKA "The Mac Store" AKA "PowerMax"). Okay, on the sucking I can only relate my own experiences with their Corvallis store. They were THE place for computers (Apple and others) in the 1980s. These days I just hear their sales staff giving incorrect information and their repair staff seems to know less than I do (now waiting for Genius Bar jokes).

I'm not crying too hard for them.