No matter how intent you might be on not drinking the corporate marketing Kool-Aid, or cider in this case, you can't help but marvel at a company that has developed the near-rabid brand popularity enjoyed by Apple Inc.

Consumers' love affair with the Cupertino, Calif.-based consumer electronics manufacturer was jarringly evident a week ago Saturday as a couple of hundred people lined up downtown for the opening of Eastern Washington's first Apple Store.

The crowd appeared to include representatives of just about every age and demographic group—college students, housewives, lawyers, and one Bohemian-looking fellow near the front of the line sporting impressive dreadlocks.

Some were so eager to be among the first to spend money at the gleaming outlet at 710 W. Main, or at least to snatch a free limited-release T-shirt and play with the displayed Mac computers, iPads, iPods, iPhones, and other iGadgets, that they spent the night out front waiting for the store to open.

A few thought far enough ahead to bring sleeping bags. Those who were ill-equipped for the chilly night air presumably were warmed at least somewhat by the giant illuminated Apple emblem—this store has one of the largest lit logos at any of its outlets, the company says—that is the only signage on the front of the building.

To some observers, clearly including many of those early-arriving devotees, the opening of the store is a hip-market status symbol, validating Spokane as a happening, contemporary place. To those who've been watching Apple's expansion activities globally, it also can be viewed as a sign of just how committed the company is to capitalizing on its soaring product successes of late by penetrating even secondary geographic markets that it might not have considered earlier.

Regardless, Apple isn't biding its time, waiting to see how sales go at its current stores before opening more. On the same weekend it opened the Spokane store, which was its 317th outlet overall in 11 countries, it also opened six others—in the United Kingdom, France, Italy, Germany, and China. The grand opening here reportedly was its 43rd of 50 or so that it expects to hold in its 2010 fiscal year. The next closest Apple Stores are in Bellevue, Wash.; Portland, Ore.; and Boise, Idaho.

Though the 70-employee store here occupies a modest-sized single-floor space, where an Eddie Bauer store formerly was located, the remodeling project there was the 16th largest construction project of any kind in the Spokane area so far this year, based on a $1.9 million building permit value.

Duke Zurek, a regional market director for Apple who gave journalists a tour of the store about an hour before it opened, couldn't say why the permit value was so high, except that the company uses lots of stainless steel to give its stores their trademark clean, high-tech look.



Walking into an Apple Store helps a first-timer understand why they're so popular. They're like a candy store for electronic gadget lovers. They're spacious and bright, with lots of glass and back-lit wall displays, all surrounding light-stained wood tables loaded with Apple products of every type that are charged or plugged in and ready to try out.

Designated areas toward the rear of the store are devoted to kid-focused products, all manner of accessories, and a so-called Genius Bar, where customers can get face-to-face technical support and advice.

Whatever the allure, what appears certain is that the outlet will attract shoppers from throughout the Inland Northwest who are eager to help the seedling store grow by sprinkling some dollars there, as well as nearby, which is a great thing for downtown.