From Newsgroup: comp.sys.mac.system

I remember the days when Apple had difficulty getting its products on
store shelves.

Apple started its little stores with fancy design to counter that so it
would have a place to sell its gear and provide service. It wasn't that
long ago.


Now, this article shows how much things changed:
It is about The Bay department stores seeking downsize by using COVID to
get evicted instead of paying penalties to end a lease.


https://www.cbc.ca/news/business/hbc-retail-rents-covid-19-1.5819734

Here is the telling part:
##
But two key forces are working against that trend. Retail is shifting
online, a transition that's hastened dramatically under COVID. The other
issue is department stores like The Bay just aren't the draw they used
to be.

Devine says customers used to go to one big store to buy everything, now
they go to malls to get particular products. She says there's no better
example of the new "anchor tenant" than the Apple Store.

"That's the new destination," said Devine, an associate professor of
real estate. "And people are going to other stores in that mall because
they've been drawn there for Apple."

As that new reality set in, other big department stores like Target and
Sears couldn't keep their heads above water. Now, in Canada, The Bay is
the last of its kind. Devine says that's the best thing it has going for
it now.
##

---- Yes, those "little" Apple stores have become THE anchor tennant in shopping malls drawing in customers. Apple has come a long way since
its first store.


(Other Note: Sears Canada which entered bankruptcy protection in June
2017 is just about to do its final cash distribution to creditors and
then all that is left is winding down the company sometime in 2021).

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