About me

Did you ever stand in front of an Apple retail store for two days? I have…and it’s an interesting experience!

In 2001 my then-14 year-old son Devin suggested my first overnighter at the Palo Alto (N. Calif.) Apple store, and the experience turned into an amazing social event. He and I have done several overnighters, including five in other countries, and have met so many interesting people who are devoted to Apple and its stores. In the process of attending grand openings, I became fascinated with Apple’s retail initiative, including the stores’ architecture, operation and philosophy. Again, at my son’s suggestions, I created this Web site to share all the information I had collected about the stores and reports on the grand openings I attended.

So I began this Web site began in August 2003 to support the “Overnighters” who camped in front of (ifo, hence the site name) Apple Stores before a grand opening. Since the site’s debut, it has grown to over 1,900 pages of information on all aspects of Apple’s retail store operation, and consistently receives over one million pageviews and two million hits each month—many more when there are store grand openings (the second half of each year).

Although originally created for Overnighters, this Web site now has a wide following: financial analysts, architectural students, retail design professionals, tech writers and real estate brokers.

Information posted on this site comes from various non-Apple sources. Tips are posted only when I can confirm the information, usually from multiple sources. I may post my own speculations, but I don’t post flimsy rumors. If you spot errors or inaccuracies in anything posted on this Web site, send me an e-mail with a correction.

My site carries Google ads, but the revenue doesn’t cover anything close to the cost of the high-horsepower servers I must use to host the site’s traffic. I consider it a non-profit endeavor.

I’m a long-time Apple computer user, and have owned a series of computers over the years: Apple ][+ (here’s my original Nov. 1979 receipt!), Macintosh 128k, Mac SE, IIci, 7300, 7600, Quadra 605, Strawberry and flat-panel iMacs, two Powermac G4s, a Powerbook 1400, two Powerbook G4s (Titanium), a dual 2 GHz G5 with 23-inch Cinema Display, Mac mini, Apple TV (1 & 2), iPhone 1G, 3GS, 4, 4s and 5, MacBook Pro 13-inch, iMac 24-inch, iMac 27-inch x 2, and an 11-inch MacBook Air.

I don’t have any official affiliation with Apple Inc., except being a registered Mac user!

I’ve shook hands with Steve Jobs at one of the many MacWorld conferences I’ve attended, and also bumped into him at the Palo Alto and Stanford store grand openings and the Palo Alto iPhone debut. I’ve visited Apple stores in northern and southern California, Arizona, Oregon, Washington, Colorado, Nevada, Utah, Kansas, Missouri, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Indiana, Illinois, Florida, Massachusetts, New York, Texas, Maryland, Virginia, Hawaii, Japan, the UK, Italy, Australia, France, Hong Kong and China—over 122 stores total. For several of these stores, I’ve also camped out overnight with other Apple enthusiasts for a grand opening.

It’s all about fun, both using Apple products and attending the grand openings!

gary@ifoAppleStore.com