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MacChat: Apple Store tipped for Brisbane

THE world economic crisis may have forced Apple to slow down the global rollout of its retail stores, but in Australia – which hasn’t been hit as hard as other countries – the stores are coming thick and fast.

Hard on the heels of Apple Store openings at Robina (Gold Coast) and Doncaster (Melbourne), Brisbane has been revealed as next in line for the Apple retail experience. A job listing on Apple’s website, as reported by Australian web forum MacTalk, reveals that the next location will be in the northern suburb of Chermside, probably at the sprawling Westfield shopping centre that is now one of the biggest in Australia.

Apple raised eyebrows recently when it opened on the Gold Coast before Brisbane. International retail chief Steve Cano said it was more about finding the right store in the right mall, rather than the right city.

The recently extended Chermside complex obviously has aroused Apple’s interest, in the same way the refurbished Robina and Doncaster shopping centres did.

The Chermside store would be the sixth Apple-owned and operated retail store in Australia, with others including Chatswood (Sydney), Chadstone (Melbourne) and the three-level glass-fronted flagship store in Sydney’s CBD.

Cano said the emphasis was on service rather than sales, and free troubleshooting and tuition was available to users, no matter where they bought their Apple product.

Apple Australia spokeswoman Fiona Martin said the company had nothing to announce regarding a Chermside store. Apple is notoriously secretive about its plans.

However, recent store locations such as Robina and Doncaster were first revealed by job listings on Apple’s site.

It usually takes several months for the store fit-out and the training of successful job applicants. If the Robina and Doncaster stores are any indication, Apple does not formally announce them until a few days before they open.

It will not be the first time an Apple store has opened at the Chermside shopping centre. In late 2000, ill-fated Apple reseller chain Buzzle opened a store in the centre, but it only lasted a few months.