Jump Plus, a leading retailer of Apple products in Canada, has unveiled its first Apple Premier Partner store in St. Catharines, marking a significant milestone in its expansion plans. The new location, which opened its doors just a few weeks ago, is not only a replacement for an older store in the Penn Centre, but it also represents the company’s bold step into a larger, more customer-friendly format.
The St. Catharines store is the first in North America to showcase the Apple Premier Partner store design, and the move comes as part of Jump Plus’s broader strategy to bring Apple’s full ecosystem to mid-sized Canadian communities.
“We’ve had a store in the Penn Centre for over 10 years now. It’s always been one of our best performers, but we took the opportunity to move to a space that was 50 per cent larger and in a much higher traffic area in the mall,” said Tim McGuire, CEO of Jump Plus. “It’s already paying off—very strong, double-digit comp gains versus the rest of the chain.”
The new store format offers consumers in St. Catharines and surrounding areas access to the same Apple products and services they would expect at a traditional Apple Store, but with a smaller footprint. According to McGuire, this new store design will serve as the company’s standard for all future locations across Canada.
Currently, there are 17 Jump Plus stores across Canada – 11 in Ontario, three in Atlantic Canada and three in the West.
“We have plans to expand substantially across the country to all regions,” noted McGuire. “All future stores will be the Premier Partner format. That’s our new standard going forward.”
One of the standout features of the new store design is its size. On average, Jump Plus stores will now be about 2,500 square feet, a 30 per cent increase over the size of their previous locations. This larger space will allow for more product displays and a more open, clean environment for customers to explore Apple’s expansive lineup.
“The stores are larger, about 30 per cent bigger than our previous ones,” McGuire explained. “Where today we’re probably averaging about 1,800 square feet, we’re going to 2,500 square feet on average. This gives us more room to display products and allows for a brighter, more spacious layout. It’s very much in line with the look and feel of an Apple Store.”
Another key feature of the new store format is the inclusion of dedicated small business experts. These specialists will help small businesses with five to 50 employees leverage the full range of Apple’s products and services to enhance their operations. Additionally, Jump Plus has a division called Jump IT, which caters to larger businesses, universities, and government organizations across Canada.
“Every salesperson in our store is trained by Apple,” said McGuire. “Our goal is to provide the right sales and service in every community. If Apple makes it, we have it. We are the local Apple experts, and we’re committed to offering businesses of all sizes the solutions they need.”
“The goal is to bring the full Apple experience to smaller, mid-sized communities where people may not have access to a larger Apple store.” More stores are coming this year.
The company’s new store format is a game-changer for smaller communities, where access to a wide range of Apple products and expert advice has traditionally been limited. Jump Plus aims to bridge this gap by providing customers in towns like St. Catharines, Barrie, Kingston, Moncton, Fredericton, and St. John’s with the same level of service and product availability that larger cities enjoy.
“This looks as much like an Apple store as possible. I kind of think of us as Apple’s little brother,” McGuire said. “We’ve got everything they have, just in smaller sizes. We offer all the same products, all the same services, and we’re the local experts trained by Apple to deliver the best experience possible.”
As Jump Plus continues to expand, McGuire is confident that the company’s focus on serving smaller communities with a full range of Apple products and services will set it apart from larger retailers.
“We offer a true Apple experience without the 25,000 square-foot Apple store. We’ve got it all—40 different models of Apple computers, with every configuration and memory size you could need. Our goal is to be the best option for Apple customers in mid-sized communities.”
Jump Plus’s latest store opening in St. Catharines highlights the company’s commitment to expanding its reach and providing local communities with access to premium Apple products and services. As more locations open across the country, the retailer is poised to continue its success in the Canadian market.
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