Apple Stores join up with PC World

'Apple Shops' have made their debut inside two of PC World's redesigned stores

It'll be the butt of a snide forum-posting near you. Further on from our earlier story that PC World had opened the first Apple Store within a PC World store in Enfield, north London, it has opened another in Croydon, south London. The format is also due to be rolled out in other large PC Worlds as part of the company's new-look 'future format' store design.

Jokes about 'Apple inside' aside, we're not even sure if we're allowed to call them 'Apple Stores'. PC World's bumph calls them 'Apple Shops', most likely an intentional yet subtle change of moniker dreamt up by a marketeer (which we've ignored).

The new Shops will boast their own 'Mac experts' and will show off the full range of Macs, associated software, and - no doubt - iPods.

"Macs are much more popular today than ever before and we're really excited about offering our customers a first class shopping experience at our new Apple Shop in our redesigned stores," said PC World's Glenn Orchard. "Customers who want to learn more about the new range of products will be able to watch the various daily product demos showing the different types of projects you can create with a Mac."

Just one question remains - where does this leave the small Apple stores and Premium Resellers? The guys that really stood by Apple when the chips were down must be wondering what'll be in store next. Tesco previously announced that it was trialling in-store Apple Store-style stands to sell iPods.

Contributor

Dan (Twitter, Google+) is TechRadar's Former Deputy Editor and is now in charge at our sister site T3.com. Covering all things computing, internet and mobile he's a seasoned regular at major tech shows such as CES, IFA and Mobile World Congress. Dan has also been a tech expert for many outlets including BBC Radio 4, 5Live and the World Service, The Sun and ITV News.