Small Dog Electronics to Close Retail Store, End Repair Services April 28
Small Dog Electronics, the independent Apple reseller that has operated in Vermont for more than three decades, will end retail operations at its Burlington store at 316 Flynn Avenue on April 28, a store spokesperson confirmed to Compass Vermont in a phone call Wednesday.
The company is not shutting down. “Small Dog isn’t going away,” the spokesperson said. “Just the retail side of the operation is going away.” Sales will continue online, by phone, and by email, with continued computer shipping and consulting services. The spokesperson said the business is shifting toward a business-to-business focus.
Repair services, however, will be discontinued entirely. Customers whose devices are currently in for service have until April 28 to pick them up.
Small Dog was founded in 1994 by Don Mayer, who began selling Apple computers out of his garage in Warren. The company grew into what it described at its peak as the largest independent Apple reseller in the country, with retail stores in Waitsfield, South Burlington, and Rutland. The Rutland store closed first. The original Waitsfield flagship — in operation for more than two decades — closed in November 2019. Earlier that year, the South Burlington showroom relocated to 316 Flynn Avenue after its Dorset Street lease was not renewed. The Flynn Avenue store has been the company’s sole remaining retail location.
In 2017, Small Dog was named an Apple Premier Partner — a designation held at the time by only 55 independently owned retailers across North America. Small Dog has long described itself as Vermont’s Apple Premier Partner. The state has no Apple-owned retail store.
Mayer announced in August 2018 that he was seeking to retire and put the company up for sale, saying the business needed new capital and leadership to remain sustainable. At the time, government sales accounted for roughly half of Small Dog’s revenue.
Small Dog’s relationship with Apple has also had public turbulence. In October 2015, Apple cancelled the company’s Authorized Service Provider status — an authorization it later regained. The company’s current phone greeting identifies it as an Apple Premier Partner and Apple Authorized Service Provider. That service relationship will effectively end for walk-in customers when the repair bench closes.