Thanks to Ole for news of three future Apple Pro Stores in Denmark, which will be an upgrade from the existing Apple Centres operated by independent reseller Officeline. The stores in Copenhagen, Odense and Aarhus will look very much like Apple retail stores. The first two store upgrades will be ready in July, while the [...]

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Apple is quietly putting administrative support personnel into place in the Netherlands to support its European retail store initiative. The company is recruiting a Retail Product Planner position, and Retail Fulfillment & Logistics Manager, both based at Apple’s Euro HQ in Bunnik (The Netherlands), where retail store planning is being coordinated. Other sources [...]

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Speculation over the exact location of a retail store in Syracuse (NY) has ended with the posting of job openings on Apple’s Web site with the notation "Carousel Center."
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An Asian business Web site notes that Apple’s ranking in an annual Japanese customer satisfaction survey has zoomed from 12.7 points in 2002 to 44.1 points in 2003 (right). According to the on-line story, Apple’s approach was, "to offer face-to-face service at Apple Store Ginza," instead of using on-line or telephone support. Last year Apple [...]

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Yikes! There are two eBay bids on a Bellevue Square T-shirt that started out at $75! The seller has set a reserve (minimum) price that hasn’t yet been met. The shirt description includes the notation "1 of only 2,000." Hey, some recent grand opening T-shirts have recently sold for less than $15.
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I’ve updated the retail store spreadsheet [xls] [pdf] to include average or median household incomes for each mall or its associated trading area.
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It’s taken over a month, but that Guitar Center store with the "crazed" Apple sign on its wall has now painted over the words "Authorized Dealer," leaving only the red Apple logo.
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Yikes! A Southpoint grand opening T-shirt just sold for $51 on eBay, an unusually high price.
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Apple is considering a retail store in China, according to Sr. V-P Retail Ron Johnson, as reported in a financial analysis issued by stock broker Merrill Lynch. Johnson said there could eventually be more than 100 retail stores, and also confirmed it’s "likely" that Apple will open stores in Canada. The analysis also [...]

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For those who want to speculate where Apple will locate its next mall in New Orleans (or wherever!), I’ve prepared a list of malls operated by five of Apple’s favorite lessors. Make your best guess…
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You have to stay up pretty late at night to get the news, which is why Fitch was ifo The Grove (S. Calif.) store to take this photo of the on-going retail store remodel. Workers are installing the stone floor and wooden furniture.
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I’ve finished a project to create a spreadsheet of information about Apple’s retail stores, including name, location, city/state, square-footage when known, who leases the space and more. The document is available for download as an Excel spreadsheet (xls) or an Acrobat (pdf) document.
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MacWorld UK has posted a story on the "divided church" of opinions on Apple bringing retail stores to Europe. Store owners and managers say Apple’s own stores would increase brand awareness, but are nevertheless fearful the company stores would take away market share.
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Apple has posted four more administrative retail positions on its "Jobs" Web site, including a Planner, who seems to handle inventory matters for the retail stores from Sacramento (N. Calif.).
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Want to see some representative demographics that Apple’s retail store planners use when evaluating a mall? Surf this General Growth Properties Inc. Web page, and then poke around the on-line and downloadable files to find all sorts of statistics on mall visitors, nearby residents, etc.
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