Apple's only retail store in Northern Ireland is moving, but rest assured that the new location will be in close proximity to the current one.
Apple has announced that its store at the Victoria Square shopping center in Belfast will be permanently closed starting Tuesday, October 15. The company is opening a new store in the nearby Corn Market area on Friday, October 18.
MacRumors reader Chris Ball shared a photo of Apple's new store in Belfast earlier this week, but the company's logo remained covered at the time. Ball said the store is located on High Street in the city's central shopping district.
Apple's website indicates that the new store will have an Apple Pickup station for in-store pickup of online orders, and a Genius Bar for technical support and repairs. The store will also host free Today at Apple creative sessions.
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I strongly suspect the deal here with Apple is the same as with many other American corporates (Amazon, for example) who 'base' in the ROI for tax purposes - the actual execs are based in a swanky London office, and regard the ROI as a weird rural UK backwater of their actual operations and don't bother with it.
The EU execs are based in ROI.
The Cork HQ was the first Apple development outside the US, the entire sales and distribution business outside the US is still based here.
We have a LOT of IT grads here, the tax thing is obviously a bonus but we're also the only English speaking EU country and one of the highest developed/educated countries.
What there’s none in ROI despite their EU HQ being located there?!
Apple started operating in Cork (Ireland) in 1980 and has been growing steadily. It currently employs over 6,000 here but still has no Apple Store in the country. Sigh. ???☘️
Can't see this changing much, it's just getting out of the grotty Victoria Square which, when it launched, was all fancy but malls don't last.
Cornmarket is usually heaving with people and I am betting Apple has also paid the council to sweeten up the Cornmarket area as well - as they do with other places.
I was there at the launch of the last one in 2008, it was a big deal for Belfast to get one but then we hadn't had a reseller for years.
So I got there today and I was very underwhelmed. Victoria Sq store should have been revamped. Far superior location. The new store feels claustrophobic and ordinary. Low head height and very ordinary sized windows. Sad to say this as I have visited loads of the Apple flagship stores all over the globe and many are magical. A downgrade for Belfast and the wrong location. Whoever made the decision should hang their head.
