Next Byte shuts Richmond store

Apple reseller Next Byte has shut its Richmond store, citing poor location as the main reason for its closure.

The Richmond store was at the wrong end of the road and the location wasn’t quite right for the reseller, said Tim Kleeman joint managing director at Next Byte.

Kleeman told CRN that Next Byte also had an Apple Centre in Ivanhoe, a suburb of Melbourne and one on Elizabeth Street, Melbourne.

“We mainly did services at the Richmond store and we felt that because of the poor location we would shut it down and move services to the Ivanhoe location. We’ve moved the staff across from the Richmond store to both the Ivanhoe and Elizabeth Street stores,” he said.

Kleeman said the closure had nothing to do with the tough times being felt by some Apple resellers.

“We are quiet bullish about the Apple market and we think it is flourishing. We bought two stores in the past year, the Apple Centre at Broadway and the Apple Centre in Hobart,” he said.

Next Byte was originally a sole trader which opened up as an official Apple reseller in 1995, owned and operated by Adam Steinhardt. Crawford Giles and Kleeman are now joint MDs of the company, with Steinhardt selling his share of the business two years ago.

Read CRN 218 for an exclusive interview with Kleeman about the Apple market.