Apple Watch Expands to Retail Locations Outside of Apple Stores in France

Apple today continued the expansion of retail locations that offer the Apple Watch to customers, this time expanding the wearable device's availability in France (via iPhone Addict) [Google Translate]. The company confirmed customers in Paris will be able to purchase the Watch at Fnac locations within the city, starting with just one store alongside the Fnac official website.

Fnac-Coimbra_54_990x660
The Fnac retail store -- essentially equivalent to Best Buy -- initially selling the Apple Watch is the one located at the Champs Elysées, and will officially begin to sell the wearable on August 21. Other Fnac stores will begin to offer the Watch "within the next week," and the store's employees will be trained to field questions and concerns from customers regarding Apple's smartwatch.

Fnac will be the first European brand to offer the Apple Watch. Initially, it will be possible to buy it on the site of Fnac and at Fnac Champs Elysées. Other Fnac will have it within the next week, warns the sign. Employees will be trained to answer questions from interested users and thus better guide customers.

As iPhone Addict points out, the availability of the Apple Watch in new retail stores could dramatically increase sales for Apple in France, considering that there are only 18 Apple Stores in the country but over 100 Fnac locations. There was no confirmation of the exact range of models to be sold at Fnac, although it's likely the company will follow Best Buy's footsteps in offering the Apple Watch Sport and mid-tier Apple Watch in both the 38mm and 42mm sizing options alongside multiple Apple-branded bands and third-party accessories.

Related Roundup: Apple Watch 11
Buyer's Guide: Apple Watch (Buy Now)

Popular Stories

apple store down feature

Here's Why the Apple Store is Going Down

Thursday November 27, 2025 1:01 pm PST by
Apple's online store is going down for a few hours on a rolling country-by-country basis right now, but do not get your hopes up for new products. Apple takes its online store down for a few hours ahead of Black Friday every year to tease/prepare for its annual gift card offer with the purchase of select products. The store already went down and came back online in Australia and New Zealand, ...
Apple Foldable Thumb

Foldable iPhone to Debut These Three Breakthrough Features

Tuesday November 25, 2025 7:09 am PST by
Apple's first foldable iPhone is expected to launch alongside the iPhone 18 Pro models in fall 2026, and it's shaping up to include three standout features that could set it apart from the competition. The book-style foldable will reportedly feature an industry-first 24-megapixel under-display camera built into the inner display, according to a recent JP Morgan equity research report. That...
iPhone Pocket Short

iPhone Pocket is Now Completely Sold Out Worldwide

Tuesday November 25, 2025 7:16 am PST by
Apple recently teamed up with Japanese fashion brand ISSEY MIYAKE to create the iPhone Pocket, a limited-edition knitted accessory designed to carry an iPhone. However, it is now completely sold out in all countries where it was released. iPhone Pocket became available to order on Apple's online store starting Friday, November 14, in the United States, France, China, Italy, Japan, Singapore, ...
streaming black friday 2025

Black Friday Streaming Deals Include Big Savings on Disney+, Hulu, Apple TV, and More

Monday November 24, 2025 8:03 am PST by
We've been focusing on deals on physical products over the past few weeks, but Black Friday is also a great time of year to purchase a streaming membership. Some of the biggest services have great discounts for new and select returning members this week, including Disney+, Hulu, Paramount+, Peacock, and more. Note: MacRumors is an affiliate partner with some of these vendors. When you click a...
streaming black friday 2025

Best Black Friday Streaming Deals - Save Big on Apple TV, Disney+, Hulu, and More

Thursday November 27, 2025 1:14 pm PST by
We've been focusing on deals on physical products over the past few weeks, but Black Friday is also a great time of year to purchase a streaming membership. Some of the biggest services have great discounts for new and select returning members this week, including Apple TV, Disney+, Hulu, Paramount+, Peacock, and more. Note: MacRumors is an affiliate partner with some of these vendors. When...
General Black Friday Deals 25 Red Green

The 30+ Best Black Friday Apple Deals on AirPods, iPads, MacBooks, and More

Thursday November 27, 2025 6:46 am PST by
Black Friday is here, and as always this is the best time of the year to shop for great deals, including popular Apple products like AirPods, iPad, Apple Watch, and more. In this article, the majority of the discounts will be found on Amazon. Note: MacRumors is an affiliate partner with some of these vendors. When you click a link and make a purchase, we may receive a small payment, which...
General Apps Messages Redux

Singapore Orders Changes to iMessage by December

Tuesday November 25, 2025 6:39 am PST by
Singapore has ordered Apple to block or filter messages on iMessage that impersonate government agencies, requiring the company to implement new anti-spoofing protections by December as part of efforts to curb rising online scams, the Straits Times reports. Singapore's Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) said that it had issued an Implementation Directive to Apple under the Online Criminal Harms...
iphone air camera

iPhone Air Flop Sparks Industry Retreat From Ultra-Thin Phones

Thursday November 27, 2025 3:14 am PST by
Apple's disappointing iPhone Air sales are causing major Chinese mobile vendors to scrap or freeze their own ultra-thin phone projects, according to reports coming out of Asia. Since the ‌iPhone Air‌ launched in September, there have been reports of poor sales and manufacturing cuts, while Apple's supply chain has scaled back shipments and production. Apple supplier Foxconn has...

Top Rated Comments

kyjaotkb Avatar
134 months ago
It looks more like a Barnes and Noble.

This looks more warm and inviting, while BB are very bright and scream "Buy me!" everywhere I go.
Deffo - FNAC started as a bookshop mainly and expanded into CDs, videos and now gradually into consumer electronics over the past 20 years.
Score: 5 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Danoc Avatar
134 months ago
Yes Fnac is much better than bestbuy and you can buy any smartphones unlocked.

It has always been more cultural, around arts and culture.
Score: 4 Votes (Like | Disagree)
JeffyTheQuik Avatar
134 months ago
The Fnac retail store -- essentially equivalent to Best Buy --
It looks more like a Barnes and Noble.

This looks more warm and inviting, while BB are very bright and scream "Buy me!" everywhere I go.
Score: 3 Votes (Like | Disagree)
ginkobiloba Avatar
134 months ago
Like others said, FNAC is more like the equivalent of Barnes&Nobles than BestBuy. It has the most extensive book section in France outside of independent libraries, and regularly hosts small cultural events like photo expositions, talks with various artists, etc..
Score: 3 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Mainyehc Avatar
134 months ago
How do you pronounce this store's name? Phonetically is it Eff-Nack? seems like an odd name, but then again it is french. :D:p
I am not completely sure about the french, but we pronounce it as a single word, and I am willing to bet they do, too (even though it's actually an acronym, from “Fédération nationale d'achats des cadres”, we all usually pronounce those as words as long as they don't have too many consonants or vowels in a row).

As for phonetics, we pronounce it like “snack” (but with an f instead of an s, obviously) and with the same a as in “far”. Seeing that both portuguese and french are romance languages, with very similar vowels, it should sound fairly similar. ;)
Score: 2 Votes (Like | Disagree)
MH01 Avatar
134 months ago
Is this rate, they will be in Tesco by the end of the year !
Score: 1 Votes (Like | Disagree)