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Raspberry Pi Opens First High Street Store in Cambridge

bbc.com

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Re: Raspberry Pi Opens First High Street Store in Cambridge

#11

Post by nicoburns »

samwhiteUK wrote: post #4
[deleted] wrote: post #2

[deleted]

Hmm, I'm not sure. People who are curious about RasPi already know what it is, and people who wander in to the store wondering what it is are not THAT likely to pick one up. If it hasn't cost them much to do, then great, but I'm not sure if it's necessary. New models already all sell out immediately

> People who are curious about RasPi already know what it is

I'm not sure about that. The Raspberry Pi foundation is big on the education market. I can definitely imagine a parent having heard about a raspberry pi but not really understanding what it is in detail wanting to talk it through with someone.

I can also imagine them running hack days for kids there (kind of like games workshop allow you to play with warhammer in their shop).

Re: Raspberry Pi Opens First High Street Store in Cambridge

#12

Post by 076ae80a-3c97-4 »

samwhiteUK wrote: post #4
[deleted] wrote: post #2

[deleted]

Hmm, I'm not sure. People who are curious about RasPi already know what it is, and people who wander in to the store wondering what it is are not THAT likely to pick one up. If it hasn't cost them much to do, then great, but I'm not sure if it's necessary. New models already all sell out immediately

I actually disagree about people not picking them up. If a child does not have "techy" parents then it's entirely possible that they're not aware of the rpi. Additionally, they're cheap enought that many people might just pick one up on the spot with the potential that their child would enjoy the learning potential.

Re: Raspberry Pi Opens First High Street Store in Cambridge

#13

Post by entity345 »

leejo wrote: post #5

Makes sense - their offices are (were?) based in Cambridge just up the road from the city centre and about a 15min walk from the new shop. Little trivia: in my previous job I worked in the offices that would be taken over by Raspberry Pi a couple of years later :)

Yes, they are based in Cambridge and so is the main Broadcom office in the UK. And so is Arm...

Re: Raspberry Pi Opens First High Street Store in Cambridge

#14

Post by analognoise »

raverbashing wrote: post #6

It's surprising that it has become the best selling British computer even it being a hobbyist oriented product

If you've ever worked on a vintage British car's electrical system, you wouldn't be surprised that the only thing the global marketplace decided the British should handle, electrically, would be hobby-oriented.

Re: Raspberry Pi Opens First High Street Store in Cambridge

#17

Post by usermcuserface »

bloak wrote: post #10
close04 wrote: post #7

Earlier quoted context omitted.

That actually looks like it costs a bit. I wonder if they get a good return on the investment. Would more people decide to buy into the RPi ecosystem because they walked into the store as opposed to reading about it all over the internet or talking to friends? It's a running cost so it has to bring a steady flow of income to pay for itself. Hard to do in a relatively niche market with a good product that depreciates…

Perhaps they got a special deal on a short (sub)lease. It would be interesting to know which shop they replaced, or whether they have taken over a space that had been empty for some time. They are not yet mentioned on the Grand Arcade web site, but I've taken a copy of their current site map so that I can do the comparison in due course.

The photos put them opposite Charles Clinkard, which means they're occupying a unit that's been vacant long enough for it to appear empty on the shopping centre map.

The centre map file was last modified on October 18th last year, though the modification may have been to some other part of the map.

Re: Raspberry Pi Opens First High Street Store in Cambridge

#19

Post by chrisseaton »

sharninder wrote: post #15

Interesting move, but why? Are they really planning to or currently selling to the general retail public?

They’re already marketed as hobby kits to the general public. In fact wasn’t that the entire idea from the start? Who do you think was buying them before?
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