The Apple Store is Coming to Singapore

The Mighty Apple
Image Credits: RyuWorks on Flickr

Fact: the Apple Store (physical) for Singapore is almost ready.

For many years Japan was the only country in Asia with official Apple Stores, staffed by peeps wearing real Apple T shirts and geniuses who will solve all your Mac problems. 

Then the China Apple Stores happened. And then so did the Hong Kong one. 

In recent years, particularly around 2010, rumors have been rife that both Hong Kong and Singapore will be getting their own Apple Stores. The rumors kept everyone excited for a bit, but as time goes by and nothing happened, people forget. 

Then in 2011, the Hong Kong Apple Store happened. 

What happened to the Singapore Apple Store then, you wonder?

It is happening. 

In recent months, I have heard whispers and chirpings from more than a few birdies that Apple’s business channels for the Apple Store in Singapore are under preparations, and that by now much have been done. 

While the location of the Store remains a mystery, the expected period of its grand opening apparently isn’t. With some luck, Singapore will have our first Apple Store by end 2012. 

Having an official Apple Store in Singapore is definitely exciting, but what does this mean for existing Apple resellers and consumers?

Fact: Apple do not really like their resellers much.

Resellers are a necessary evil to Apple, they ensure sales in locations and countries that Apple Retail cannot reach, and most of them, especially the APRs (Apple Premium Resellers), are even willing to have Apple dictate the design of their stores even if the APRs are the ones paying for the renovations. Selling through resellers, however, mean the Apple earns less profit compared to selling directly from its stores. 

Thus for Apple Retail to enter Singapore, Apple will have to made conditions favorable for the official Apple Store to take away most of the retail profits from the current crop of Apple resellers in Singapore. 

This usually mean putting more restrictions on what Apple resellers can or cannot do, for example the recent “no participation in IT bazaar shows” (nevertheless, nubox and Epicentre were still openly selling Macs at the recent IT Fair without being too showy about it), giving resellers even lesser stock of new products (they are already getting very little stock now, especially the non-APRs), and probably not allowing anymore new Apple resellers to happen (while trying to terminate the smaller resellers’ rights to resell). 

Singapore has the largest number of Apple resellers in the region (so much so that people actually think Epicentre is the Apple Store), and for the Apple Store to take the lion’s share of the local market some of the resellers will have to go, it seems. 

Nevertheless, I don’t expect Epicentre to be affected by this, since time and time again they have demonstrated that they have a lot of internal backing from Apple Singapore, for despite being the reseller to continuously break Apple’s very strict reseller rules with pleasure, they have rarely been punished. Seems that they are also heavily involved in Apple’s China operations. 

Like the States though, the Apple booths in electronic chains like Harvey Norman and Challenger are apparently officially sanctioned by Apple, and are managed by a company (infinite) directly appointed by Apple. So these will definitely remain, and even thrive, in a future where there are Apple Stores in Singapore. 

You might think all the above sound so terribly evil, but as a consumer, a future with a Singapore Apple Store is a much brighter future. 

There are considerable benefits to be had from an official Apple Store as compared to normal resellers. 

As far as I know, all Apple Stores in the world follow Apple’s 14-day return policy or purchases. This mean that should you be unhappy with your purchases, you can return your purchases for a full refund sans a small restocking fee. 

If a product is refreshed with 14 days of your purchase, you can exchange your old product for the updated model. For example, if you bought an iPad 2 on the 13th and the iPad (3rd generation) is released in stores on the 16th, an exchange is totally possible in an official Apple Store. 

Such exchanges and returns are just impossible at any Apple reseller. 

Also, when Apple runs an official promotion like the annual Back To School promotion, you can enjoy the promotion directly at the official Apple Store, not so at the resellers. 

When Apple announces a new product and keeps the current product while dropping its prices, like the $528 iPad 2 wifi for Singapore, an official Apple Store will update its prices immediately for existing stocks of iPad 2, while the last time I checked with certain resellers they were still selling the same model at $668 (Infinite-run booths and it’s Vivocity shop have the new prices already). 

Other obvious benefits range from the superior experience shopping in an Apple Store, to much higher stock levels for new products, to availability of Apple Store-only products like the product (RED) iPods. 

All in all, a very exciting future to look forward to. I can’t wait to go give my money to Apple at the Singapore Apple Store. 

P.S. The second Hong Kong Apple Store is coming up soon too. 

Edit on 14th Nov 2013: Chatter resurfaced recently. Apple Store Singapore is apparently being planned for Orchard Road, the area between Wheelock Place and Far East Shopping Centre/Hilton. Will update if or when I hear more.

You can follow MacRyu at @ryuworks on Twitter and @ryu on App.net.

Got questions about iOS 7 and the new iPhone 5s and 5c? Visit MacNet at sgmac.net today!

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Ivan98
Ivan98
12 years ago

Location? Have to be MBS.

ryuworks
ryuworks
12 years ago

MBS will be really inconvenient if the Store is launching this year. 

Garysantero
Garysantero
12 years ago

Orchard, ION, smack in the center of the bustling city!!

Nomaxx25
Nomaxx25
12 years ago

case in point is also that once there is a Apple Store in SG then the days of getting and asking for freebies from the resellers are over..Apple is not gonna give any freebies to consumers for buying a MacBook, Imac or iPad 🙁 Where there are plus points to Apple beign here there are also the minus points to think about 🙁

simontay78
simontay78
12 years ago

Apple store is like Mac donald in many ways, they buy or rent premium property and renovate them to become a premium shopping experience. 

I eagerly awaits their Apple Store(s) to be opened with properly trained geniuses that smiles & give proper services. 😀

ryuworks
ryuworks
12 years ago
Reply to  Nomaxx25

Actually, the opposite might happen with the remaining resellers eager to take customers from the Apple Store by offering more freebies

Ivan98
Ivan98
12 years ago

OK, I got a better suggestion for location.

The old Capitol building, beside Raffles City. Location, it’s even more central than MBS. Architecture wise, it’s in similar league with the Amsterdam and Grand Central stores.

jiahao
jiahao
12 years ago

Jurong Point . duhh? , you can come and see , many stores are closing down and they are all popular ones , 5 closed down in the same level and row , so maby apple need that space ? obviously jurong has very , very little apple stores , theres only like 3? , 1 opposite singtel in jurong point , and 2 more at places that i dont even know! GOD…..

Jiahao
Jiahao
12 years ago
Reply to  Garysantero

 Think again? is there even space?

Jiahao
Jiahao
12 years ago

i think they would buy over some lands and build their own ones like the one in shanghai

kenbill
kenbill
12 years ago

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ToileTmaster
ToileTmaster
12 years ago

Someone said it’s the new Specialist Centre… the one in between 313 & OC.

Apple Fan
Apple Fan
12 years ago

When and where is it opening? Btw where is the photo on the top of the page taken from? Overseas?

Ian
Ian
11 years ago
Reply to  Apple Fan

The photo on the top of the page was taken from the Apple Store which is located at the junction of Ginza-dori Street & Matsuya-Dori Street in Tokyo, Japan.
The store has a rotating Apple logo atop the building and is located opposite the massive Matsuya department store along Ginza.

Apple Fans Singapore
Apple Fans Singapore
11 years ago

I wrote to John Browett, Apple’s SVP of Retail last week, asking him if Apple planned to open a store in Singapore.

He replied, saying ‘We never comment on our store plans. But we know how attractive a store in Singapore would be for customers’.

Which pretty much means Apple is definitely opening a store here. The question is when and where.

Ajccos Jawe
11 years ago

The second Hong Kong Apple Store is already been open: Festival Walk
http://www.apple.com/hk/en/retail/festivalwalk/

Apple Fans Singapore
Apple Fans Singapore
10 years ago

@ryuworks:disqus

Thanks for the Nov 2013 update. The shop space at Wheelock Place facing and directly accessible from Orchard Road has been vacant for quite some time since Esprit moved out. If your information is true, I would not be surprised to see an Apple Store there in the future. The front is covered in plain billboards, sans any advertising of new outlets, which is indicative of Apple’s typical secrecy.

Shawn. P
Shawn. P
10 years ago

@ryuworks thanks for the latest update(Nov 2013) hoping to see a flagship store. 🙂 once you got more details, feel free to email me. eagerly waiting for the opening of an Apple Retail Store in Singapore as well! APPLE. INC ROCKS!!!

No Name
No Name
9 years ago

It’s been a year…no news?

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[…] a number of years of showing interest in opening an official Apple Store in Orchard Road, it is finally […]


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