Less than three months after the continent’s first Apple store debuted, Australia will celebrate its third retail store with the grand opening of the Chadstone location on September 13th at 10 a.m. The store in a southern suburb of Melbourne will round out coverage in the southeastern region of the country, leaving plenty of room for future stores in Perth, Brisbane, Darwin and Adelaide. Tipsters point to future locations in Melbourne itself, possibly along Church Street or Bourke Street in the central business district.

Even as construction work is nearly finished at Geneva’s (Switzerland) first Apple store, the country’s second store in Zurich is nearly finished, at the Glattzentrum shopping mall northeast of downtown. Photos show a black construction barricade in front of the space, while inside the stone floor is installed. Other construction appears to be half-finished, although the Genius Bar is recognizable. Apple will open a third Switzerland store in downtown Zurich on Bahnhofstrasse, possibly by the end of 2008. See photos after the break. read more…

The grand opening of the Rue de Rive (Geneva) retail store is scheduled for the end of this month, which probably explains yesterday’s addition to the black-painted construction barricade in front of the store–the words “Bientôt ouvert.” Store employees have begun their training, and final store fit-out could begin by the middle of the month. Check a photo after the break. read more…

A tipster in Melbourne (Australia) claims to have seen an Apple retail store images pasted into renderings o two future retail complexes along Bourke Street in the city’s central business district. Specifically, the renderings–possibly speculative–show a planned renovation of the City Cinemas at 206 Bourke Street that has been empty since closing in early 2006, and another renovation at 140 Bourke Street, the former Hoyt Cinema Centre building. The five-story #206 space was sold to developer Lee Smith in May, 2007 for $27.3 million, and he intends to create 370,000 square-feet of ground-floor retail space, and 25,000 square-feet of upper-level office space. The #140 space was purchased by developer Drapac in 2004 for $12 million, and construction could begin soon after the original building was demolished. Both developments could be finished in 2009. The city’s CBD languished for several years, but began a comeback in 2006, led by the renovation of the historic Myer Emporium store. Apple already has plans to build a store inside the Chadstone Shopping Centre, and there have been rumors of a street-level store on Church Street in a new development.

The attorneys for Apple Inc. and two disabled Oakland (Calif.) women who filed an accessibility lawsuit against the company last year continue to hold talks aimed at settling the issue without a court trial. According to a status report filed in U.S. District Court last week, “The parties are continuing to engage in the mediation process and anticipate scheduling a further mediation session within the next thirty days.” Jana Overbo and Nicole Brown-Booker filed their lawsuit in August, 2007 alleging they encountered accessibility barriers when they visited  San Francisco retail store using wheelchairs. They asked for a jury trial, and sought injunctive relief–that is, for Apple to make the store completely accessible to physically disabled persons. They also asked for attorney’s fees, and damages for the “discriminatory experiences, and denial of access and of their civil rights.” The parties could not reach a settlement after the lawsuit was filed, and on May 6, 2008 asked the court for permission to mediate the lawsuit, stating, “the parties anticipate this mediation will be completed by June 30, 2008.” Now, two months later, the mediation has not produced a settlement and talks continue.

The Aventura (Fla.) retail store will be closed from September 9th through 12th to prepare it for small-sized operations required by a materials and lay-out upgrade. The store opened in January, 2004 and has the new-style stone flooring and wood display tables. However, it also has the old-style frosted glass partitions, and the non-illuminated sidewall graphics. The store could be downsized for three or four months during the renovations.

Over two years the IFO community began watching a vacant lot in Westlake (Ohio), the future home of the Crocker Park shopping and residential development. As the months went by, development maps showed Apple as a tenant, and job listings were posted in October, 2006. But it was over one year before building permits were issued for construction, trying the patience of even the most loyal Apple store fan. Now, long-time store watcher Eric has the latest photos that show progress on the store. read more…

Construction on the future Apple store at The Promenade at Briargate in Colorado Springs (Colo.) is progressing, with photos by Ralph showing that the stainless steel hasn’t quite been installed. But, behind a black construction barricade labeled with a white Apple logo, you can see exactly where the backlit logo will be placed. See the photos after the break. read more…

Several years of planning and construction will culminate this Thursday with the grand opening of the Highcross shopping development in Leicester (UK), including the grand opening of the country’s 17th Apple store at 10 a.m. The shops, restaurants and other attractions in the central downtown district will be joined by a performing arts center and science-technology park in the next two years. The mall opening will be celebrated by a parade, dancers and other entertainment, and a night-time stage show. The Apple store will hand out 1,000 commemorative T-shirts at its grand opening, and hold a sweepstakes featuring a Macbook/iPod prize.

Apple claimed in 2004 that over 100 million people in the U.S. were within 15 miles of an Apple retail store, and a population analysis seems to confirm their statement. The location of new stores is carefully analyzed, taking into consideration available spaces, registered Apple product users, population and other demographics. How well do the stores reach out to everyone? Take a look at a Cenus Bureau map of population density overlaid with the location of Apple’s retail stores.

Continuing with the pre-holiday push to open new stores, Apple will open at the Renaissance at Colony Park (Ridgeland, Miss.) and The Forum Shops (Las Vegas) this Saturday at 10 a.m. The former is the first in the state, and will occupy a key location to fill a 233,000 square-mile black-out zone for residents of four southern states. The latter store will open at 10 a.m. each day and, befitting a store just 750 feet from slot machines, will close at either 11 p.m. or midnight (Fri./Sat.). The new store also grants Las Vegas the honor of having the second-largest concentration of Apple stores: three locations within 4.2 miles (Manhattan is first with three stores within 3.4 miles).

The Sydney (Australia) store grand opening back in June was a rare event: an early, enthusiastic crowd, a prominent sidewalk location with thousands of passersby, good weather and a wide, glass-fronted store. All of those elements combined to create one of the most social and crowd-gathering openings in Apple’s history. Now, you can experience some of that camaraderie through an extraordinary 360-degree panoramic photo taken by Peter Murphy. The photo depicts the employees pressed against the glass inside, the crammed sidewalk in front, and the crowd of curious across the street. Check the upper floors of the building across the street for even more gawkers who witnessed the grand opening.

It’s not often that passersby are able to see a half-finished Apple retail store–it’s usually covered up by construction barricades. But at the future Colony Park (Miss.) store the construction is in full view, including the partially-installed stainless steel siding, leading to a “half-baked” back-lit logo. Thanks to Mike for the photo.

Construction on the future Royal Hawaiian Center (Honolulu) retail store has been in-progress for over a year, and yet the store is still not ready for a grand opening. Mainland and island sources confirm that the delay is due to the storefront siding, which Apple’s architect specified as lava rock to complement the tropical setting. However, Apple’s contractor bumped into a problem with the nearly-black, rectangular stones that were installed last May–there weren’t enough available from the island of Oahu to finish the enormous exterior walls. Since it’s taboo to move native rocks between islands, Apple couldn’t bring in additional rocks and was stuck with a partially-finished outer wall for the store. The alternatives were not attractive: change to a more artificial material such as concrete, or bring in lava rock from Guam or the Philippines. The installed siding was removed, and tipsters say a replacement shipment of lava rock is now enroute, but won’t speculate on how soon the store will open. Meanwhile, the hired and trained staff is working at the island’s other two stores until their own store opens. read more…

The University Park Village (Forth Worth) store will open this Saturday at 10 a.m., the first Apple store in the city, but the fifth in the metroplex. The mall is tiny by Apple’s usual location standards, with just 172,000 square-feet of space and 37 stores. But the mall is conveniently located just off Interstate 30 and a mile away from Texas Christian University (TCU) and its 8,800 students.