Apple Stores have a lot in common with the products they sell -- shiny, sleek and easy to use.
Now Mainers should prepare to get in line. Apple appears to be on the verge of opening its first retail store in Maine this year.
The maker of the MacBook laptop, the iPod and the iPhone has quietly made moves to open an Apple Store at the Maine Mall, according to job listings on Apple.com.
Ads for store managers, sales representatives, creative artists and inventory specialists have also been posted on job search site Monster.com.
Apple has a loyal following of fans and a growing share of the technology and new media market. But while Apple enthusiasts rejoice at the opening of an official store, it could come at the expense of independent sales and service locations that Mac fiends have frequented until now.
Apple is notorious for its ability to shroud details surrounding the launch of stores or products, but the possibility of a store's opening in southern Maine has been a topic of conversation on blogs and message boards.
A spokeswoman for the company would not confirm the location of a new store and declined to talk about the job postings.
Tarik Sivonen, co-president of the Southern Maine Apple Users Group, said he's excited at the prospect of Apple's coming to Maine.
An Apple die-hard, he has several older Apple computers, including the Macintosh 512, one of the company's earliest Macs.
Sivonen said part of Apple's fanatical following is a result of well-made computers with straightforward programs.
Though people create special attachments to their Macs and admire Apple's innovations, Sivonen said at the end of the day, it's also a business.
"Apple is a corporation. They have to make money, and more than a little," he said. "Don't think of Apple as your best friend who is making software and hardware. They're not.
"That's not to say they're not the best person for making hardware and software for me."
Apple operates 208 stores; the one closest to Maine is in Salem, N.H. In December, the company announced it would open at least 40 new stores in 2008.
Apple Stores offer a full line of the company's popular software, such as the OS X computer operating system, as well as laptops, iPods and iPhones.
The stores also offer service, support and education through the Genius Bar, the in-store service department.
Apple's net sales for fiscal year 2007 were $24 billion. Computers accounted for $10.3 billion, but sales of the iPod music player almost equaled that, at $8.3 billion.
In recent years the company has taken on the role of a game-changer, with products like the iPhone, which has affected cell phones and wireless service agreements, and iTunes, which has had a big impact on music distribution. A survey released this month by the NPD Group shows iTunes has beaten out Wal-Mart as the top music retailer in the U.S.
The arrival of an Apple Store, as well as hurting independent resellers in southern Maine, could also disrupt retailers who sell and service Macs. Best Buy, for example, reached an agreement last year to sell computers along with iPods at stores.
But authorized resellers and service providers would suffer the most. Don Moody, owner of Gorham Micro, an authorized dealer in Saco, said an Apple Store would affect his business.
Moody said he has already seen a slight decline because of the Best Buy deal.
He said the strength of his business is service.
"After a while you develop a clientele, regular customers and get to know everyone," he said. "It's like an old-fashioned mechanic that works on your car."
Moody expects an Apple Store would do well.
Jeff Mao, the state coordinator for educational technology at the Department of Education, said he "drank the Kool-Aid" on Apple a long time ago.
He deals with Macs both at home and on the job, including the...
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