One of Apple's tiniest retail stores, at the WestQuay shopping center in Southampton, UK, is getting a much-needed expansion this weekend.

apple store westquay

Apple's tiny WestQuay retail store opened in February 2007

The current store, which recently turned 10 years old, will close on Friday evening for the final time, according to multiple people familiar with the matter. On Saturday, a larger store will open down the hall, taking over two units previously occupied by British retailers Sports Direct and Monsoon, the people said.

Lending credence to our report is a WestQuay floor plan with two vacant units—SU41 and MSU2—just steps away from Apple's current location in the shopping center. In addition, when we searched for Today at Apple events in the Southampton area, the WestQuay store had no workshops scheduled until Saturday.

apple westquay floor plan
Apple and WestQuay shopping center management did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

Apple retail stores have seen a significant increase in foot traffic since the WestQuay location opened in February 2007, prior to the original iPhone launch. The larger store will be a welcomed change for both Apple retail employees and customers, and it should benefit from an updated appearance as well.

Apple's financial chief Luca Maestri recently said Apple collectively welcomed over 300 million visitors to its retail stores last quarter.

"It was a very busy quarter for our online and retail stores, which collectively welcomed over 300 million visitors," he said. "In addition to our spectacular new store at the Dubai Mall, we opened our first stores in Singapore and in Taiwan during the quarter, expanding our total store footprint to 497 stores."

"In May, we kicked off Today at Apple, with new in-store programming from music to photography to art and coding, and our stores collectively hosted 87,000 sessions during the quarter," he added. "We have entered a new chapter in retail, with unique and rewarding experiences for our customers."

Top Rated Comments

kkamann Avatar
80 months ago
Gotta give kudos to MR for this obscure story. Many times people pile on MR for delivering ****, but they still deliver the goods on off-beat stories that don't necessarily apply to the masses.

Cue the "sheeple" hate comments.
Score: 8 Votes (Like | Disagree)
jimthing Avatar
80 months ago
Is it me, or are all our UK shopping centres becoming mono culture branded spaces, that all look the same? Where's the originality?

This isn't about Apple specifically, obviously, but they all have the same brands of shops / restaurants / cinemas, often run by the same companies, with the near exact same interiors (for apparent 'familiarity' reasoning). Eg. the Spanish massive Zara group brands: Zara, Massimo Dutti ('https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Massimo_Dutti'), Pull and Bear ('https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pull_and_Bear'), Bershka ('https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bershka'), Zara Home ('https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zara_Home'), et al. Or the same restaurant chains: Jamie's Italian, Bill's, Byron, Carluccio's, Starbucks, Costa, etc.

The opportunities for small and interesting independent's are often left for dust for various reasons (rent costs, business rates, market forces of malls, etc.), but the interest for us, the customer, is seemingly the last thing decent malls are bothered about.

One has to look no further than the US Westfield 'brand' of malls. I mean why do they all have to share the same name for starters. In London, you say to a friend 'I went to Westfield', and then have to qualify it with 'sorry to be precise, I mean Westfield London in west London, not Westfield Stratford in east London'?! (Could they not have just given them distinctive names to start with?!)

Of course, it's like a self-fulfilling prophecy. For if we as customers are forced or chose to patronise these mono cultured places, then they in turn think this is 'what the people want' and repeat the exercise. Somewhat of a conundrum.
Score: 4 Votes (Like | Disagree)
TheGoog Avatar
80 months ago
This is much needed. The old store is a cramped mess.
Score: 3 Votes (Like | Disagree)
macduke Avatar
80 months ago
Funny that the Apple Store is across from the "next" store.
Score: 3 Votes (Like | Disagree)
sfobear Avatar
80 months ago
...One has to look no further than the US Westfield 'brand' of malls...
Oddly enough, you can't blame us in the US for Westfield; it started out as an Australian company and didn't get over to the states until the 70's. But I certainly get your point, you really couldn't tell what city you were in, or country, in the middle of a Westfield mall.
Score: 2 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Milese3 Avatar
80 months ago
Exciting to see my local store finally get an expansion!
Score: 2 Votes (Like | Disagree)

Popular Stories

Apple WWDC23 macOS Sonoma hero

macOS Sonoma Launching This Week With These New Features

Sunday September 24, 2023 12:45 pm PDT by
Apple previously announced that macOS Sonoma will be released this Tuesday, September 26. The free software update includes many new features and changes for the Mac, including the five that we have highlighted below. In addition to these five features, we have shared the full release notes for macOS Sonoma below for a complete overview of everything new. Desktop Widgets macOS Sonoma...
iPhone 16 Mock Header With Dynamic Island

Skipping the iPhone 15 Pro? Here's What's Rumored for iPhone 16 Pro

Friday September 22, 2023 9:29 am PDT by
Are you skipping the iPhone 15 Pro and waiting another year to upgrade? If so, we already have some iPhone 16 Pro rumors for you. Below, we recap new features rumored for the iPhone 16 Pro models so far:Larger displays: The iPhone 16 Pro and iPhone 16 Pro Max will be equipped with larger 6.3-inch and 6.9-inch displays, respectively, according to Ross Young, CEO of Display Supply Chain...
iPhone 16 Side Feature

iPhone 16 to Include an Additional Capacitive 'Capture' Button

Monday September 25, 2023 12:50 pm PDT by
The iPhone 16 series is expected to gain an additional capacitive button, known internally as the "Capture Button." Codenamed "Project Nova," the button is likely to be one of the main selling points of the iPhone 16 lineup, assuming it gets past the initial testing phase. The Capture Button is located on the same side as the Power button, only positioned slightly lower - where the mmWave cutout...
ipad mini blue

Apple to Launch iPad Mini 7 Later This Year, Industry Report Suggests

Monday September 25, 2023 3:16 am PDT by
Apple could be preparing to release a seventh-generation iPad mini before the end of the year, based on a new report by DigiTimes. In an article discussing stagnating global tablet demand in the second half of 2023, the Taiwan-based outlet forecasts an uptick in Apple's share of the market owing to orders for a "small-size" iPad in the fourth quarter. From the report (see bold): In the...