Apple Australia is set to range only premium third party products in their new Sydney store with Bose, B&W and JBL among the big winners. Not getting a gig are brands like Belkin and Altec Lansing. Apple will also have from day one a new range of iPhone accessories including products from V MODA and Jawbone.
We have also been able to confirm that the new Apple store which is set to opened on the 19th of June 2008 by Apple CEO Steve Jobs will sell the new Apple 3G iPhone however they will not be offering a communications plan, instead consumers will have to pay in full for a new iPhone, which will be configured to deliver one of three new 3G services from Telstra, Optus or Vodafone. Consumers not on these networks will have to switch to one of these carriers to get the full 3G benefits the networks are delivering.
With the store set to be handed over to Apple next week by the builders, Apple insiders have confirmed that they are set to work with various distributors for the supply of accessories and iPod attach merchandise.
Apple insiders have confirmed that among the products to be sold in Australia will be goods from Bose, JBL, Harman Kardon, B&W and ihome. Also set to be ranged is V-MODA gear and a host of brand new products that set to ranged for the first time.
Apple will also stock iPhone accessories from Griffin, Speck and Incase. Currently the new Apple store is under the control of Corey Fugman an Apple US executive now based in Sydney. Also working on the roll out of the new store is Anthony Crouch.
“It will be a hot store that will set a new benchmark for technology retailing in Australia” said an Apple executive who has been working on the project for several months. “You will see several new products for the first time”. Another Apple insider said “We are currently working with several leading distributors to stock the store. We are only going to range premium brands similar to our overseas stores.
The project has been driven initially by Carl Smit a senior Apple executive who recently left to spearhead the opening of Apple’s new store in Beijing.
One distributor who is set to benefit from the store opening will be Sydney based Conexus a long time Apple distributor. It is believed that they will represent more than 12 vendors supplying to the Apple shop. Executives from Conexus refused to comment.
Last week a covering appeared over the building’s facade with the tag-line ‘Drop in soon. Apple Store, Sydney’.
