Simply Mac, the GameStop-owned Apple Authorized Reseller, is closing a number of its stores around the United States.
The list of stores affected hasn’t been released as of yet, but outlets in North Carolina, North Dakota, Montana, Texas and Illinois will all be affected.
Concerning the closure of one Simply Mac store, which opened its doors in 2013, GameStop’s manager of corporate communications told a news outlet that:
“As GameStop announced in its holiday sales release, the company continues to focus on the execution of our business transformation plan, which includes growing our non-gaming businesses and right-sizing our global store portfolio across all our retail brands. This involves evaluating and closing non-productive locations. The closure of this Simply Mac store is part of that strategy.”
GameStop acquired a minority interest in Simply Mac, an Apple Premier Partner, in 2012. Over the past year, GameStop has been suffering across the board, with a reported 16.4 percent drop in sales over the last holiday season. Shares in the company fell 16 percent through 2016.
The goal of Simply Mac (which I’ve always found to have a good reputation among Apple customers) is to give customers in smaller cities across America, which lack official Apple stores, somewhere to buy Apple gear and get specialist help about devices.
Having started in 2006, a year before the iPhone arrived, Simply Mac currently operates more than 70 locations coast to coast.
Via: 9to5Mac