It’s no secret that Apple is rapidly expanding its retail footprint. Not only are they spreading out to new places in Europe and Asia, they are also moving into new areas on the home front.
A few days ago we mentioned that the Cupertino company was unveiling a new store in Alaska this Saturday. But the one opening up its doors in Canada tomorrow might prove to be more interesting, as it’s right down the street from RIM’s headquarters…
CBC’s The National calls the move by Apple “provocative.”
“It was already eating into the BlackBerry’s marketshare, and now it’s adding insult to injury by opening a new store in Ontario, practically down the street from the BlackBerry’s corporate home.”
But not all folks see it as Apple raising a flag on an arch-rival’s stomping ground. Commercial real estate expert, Benjamin Bach, believes that the store opening is in response to the area’s lucrative demographics. Waterloo’s residents skew more tech-saavy with a higher average income.
Still, the store opening comes during RIM’s darkest chapter. The company was recently forced to lay off over 2000 employees in the face of declining profits. Is it just a coincidence? Or is Apple trying to make the BlackBerry-makers sweat?