You realize, of course, that Apple has its own real estate unit, headed by former Gap v-p George Blankenship and focused on finding just the right locations for retail operations. But on the other side, there are mall developers out there just itching to move Apple into a nice 30-foot space in one of their developments. Between the two of them, there’s a long list of store possibilities, and Tulsa (Okla.) now appears to be among them. Apparently there’s a space at the Woodland Hills Mall on the city’s southside operated by the Simon Property Group that could become an Apple store. The city is #15 on the list of largest metro areas without an Apple store.
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I’m in the Oakley store trying to find some "Straight Jacket" polarized sunglasses, when I notice a guy at the cash register trying to buy 100 pair of M-frame sunglasses. Whoa! So what’s with that, I ask? He explains that when you crank up a 3.5 kw laser on the stainless steel cutting machine, you gotta have protection. Cutting stainless for what and where, I wonder? Seems he’s here from Japan, and just received a few tons of steel panels that will eventually ship out to Finland–of all places–and has to turn them all into a finished product. OK, so don’t keep me guessing…what’s the product? Whoa, again! It’s the interior wall panels for Apple’s mini-stores! Seems like the design is a tri-national effort, and his story confirms the interior of the future mini-stores that I revealed earlier.
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I’ve posted my coverage of the Stonestown Galleria (N. Calif.) retail store grand opening on Saturday.
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Mandy has posted photos, and reports the person first-in-line arrived at about 11 p.m. the previous night for the Country Club Plaza (Mo.) grand opening, and several others arrived at 2 a.m. By 7:45 a.m. there were only 36 people in line, but that increased quickly as opening time approached, including people from Dallas area (552 miles) and Tulsa (246 miles). Another tipster estimated there were about 800 people in line when the store opened, supported by attendees to the shopping district’s art fair. By all accounts, the line was very long and enthusiastic, and wrapped around the block.
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Thanks to Aaron, who has posted a trio of coverage for the Country Club Plaza store, including photos, a video and a blog with all the details. He was #38 in line, was let in with the first group of customers, and came out with a dual 2.5 GHz G5 for his parents, who were #450 in line.
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I’ve finally finished the Shinsaibashi (Osaka) store video that shows the actual grand opening. It’s about 4-1/2 minutes long. [mirror 1]
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Here are the first photos of the Stonestown (N. Calif.) retail store–they had black paper covering the windows until 8 a.m., and a shoplifting alarm sounded for 30 minutes! Albert was first-in-line at 5:30 a.m., but graciously let 10 year-old Nick be the first through the door, with about 150 persons in line behind him at 10 a.m. The store is about 23-feet wide, so it’s in the "small" category, but with all standard store features. Oh, and a small brown mouse was running between the empty space to the right of the Apple store and the Herbal Scents kiosk in front of the Apple store. When an employee bent down to open the front door, the mouse made a bee-line for the door, but swerved at the last moment and ran under a large planter box! Later, the mouse appeared on top of a local kiosk and had to be chased away. [interior] [exterior]
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Watch a video of the Stonestown (N. Calif.) retail store.
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You’ve seen angles and views of the Country Club Plaza (Mo.) store on this Web site, but thanks to Scott we can now see the entire spectacular storefront, which is a beautifully-decorated and unique building for Apple, nearly ready for the grand opening on Saturday.
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And in case you’re thinking of being first in line at CCP, here’s the guy to beat (right)! Apparently he’s related to someone in the store, and expects to hit the line very early! Oh, there’s a street art fair in the district on Saturday, too.
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Journalist Leander Kahney has written the book “Cult of Mac” that describes in great detail the culture, outlook and behavior of those to loyally follow Apple’s products, including the retail stores. The book chronicles the early efforts to staff CompUSA and Sears with enthusiastic volunteers who would guide customers to Mac gear, to those who line up early for the annual MacWorld Expo conventions, and even about the retail store grand openings. It’s provides some great insights into the unique category of customer that Apple has created–and which other companies would love to duplicate. The book is in “pre-order” status from Amazon…click the link in the right column to order you copy today!
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AppleInsider is reporting that Apple sales in Sweden on on the rise, prompting the company to 10-15 Pro Stores in that country, and another 10 stores in the remaining "Nordic" countries.
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Buzz, buzz, buzz! The crew down at the True Value Hardware over on Gedes Street was having a quiet day until someone ran in yelling, "Crosscut, buzz, mitre, band, circular, rip…get me a saw!" After calming the fellow down, the TVH gang found out there was a big emergency over at the Carousel Mall (NY) and a little…ah, adjusting was required. Within minutes they had the woodworker all fixed up with the necessary cutter, and learned that the furniture legs over at the future Apple store were a tad too tall, according to someone with the authority to make changes. So out came the saws and down went the tables. In the process, some other part of the store was affected (damaged?), I’m told, setting the grand opening back at least a week. It’s characteristically Apple–it’s gotta be right before it’s considered "done."
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So, me and a bud are sitting around the Starbucks (love that Wi-Fi!) talking about old music. I say the Beatles hit American shores in early 1964, but my friend claims it was late 1963. I guess we were arguing a little too loud, because a gal from the table behind us taps me on the shoulder and says simply, "February 9, 1964." Hey…I was right! And how come she’s an expert? Turns out she’s from London, here training at a local Apple store in preparation for her first day at the Regent Street store! Cool!
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Apple stores with a full presentation theater have a sophisticated audio-video system that includes a set of slides promoting the upcoming topics and times. By punching in a number code, the presenter can display an animated slide listing that day’s specific topics, and then dissolve to a description of the next topic. Audio from the slides is routed to speakers throughout the store, to alert visitors of what’s next…"Coming up next in our theater…"
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