November 4, 1997: Store Within a Store Program Begins
Apple's relationship with retailers has always been tenuous. Macs have been sold (and subsequently pulled from) Circuit City, Sears and Best Buy, to name a few. One chain reseller Apple has gotten along with a little better than others over the years has been CompUSA.
For many people, prior to Apple Stores, CompUSA was the one place where they could see an actual Mac and make an impulse buy. Unfortunately that didn't happen very often, as CompUSA was notorious for poorly maintaining and presenting its Macs.
That changed when Apple and CompUSA reached the Store Within a Store program. The idea was that CompUSA would set aside a portion of the store and devote it solely to Apple products, compatible peripherals and software. The program was an immediate success, with Mac sales increasing by an order of magnitude at CompUSAs where the program was in effect. The deal that worked very well for both parties was announced this day in 1997.
Source: Mac Observer
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The CompUSA in the Palisades Mall in West Nyack, NY still has a subpar Mac section. It’s slightly better than it used to be (hey, at least they have current models in now). But the computers are often dirty, turned off, broken, etc. You’d think they’d make more of an effort since there’s an Apple store downstairs.