The overhead section signs at Apple’s retail stores no longer define the product lay-out, after a reconfiguration at many store over the past three days. The change give Apple’s entry-level iMacs, iBooks and iPods the brightest spotlight at the front of the store, and pushes G5s, Powerbooks and Cinema Displays further back into the store. [...]

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Three tractor-trailers unloaded inventory at The Oaks (S. Calif.) retail store this morning…and at about the same moment, Apple formally announced the grand opening for October 29th.

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Good morning! Wake up to a new product lay-out at some stores after employees toiled overnight to make the switch. My 2 a.m. dash to various stores showed z-i-p, so not all stores have made the change yet. Stayed tuned for details…

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Thanks to Adrian, we know that the Meadowhall Centre (UK) Apple store will open December 10th. And thanks to Richard for a photo of the standard black-painted plywood and white lettering in front of the store.

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What’s the Apple store love connection? Another Craigslist posting, apparently referring to Shadyside (Penn.): “I go to the Apple Store. You are so cheerful and confident. You look so big and cuddly. I wonder what it would be like to kiss you with that thick beard. Someday I’ll introduce myself and maybe I will find [...]

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Retail property developer Westfield Group wants to expand the Broadmarsh Centre in Nottingham (UK), and is asking the city to displace 34 property owners for the expansion. To prove the Centre’s attractiveness post-expansion, Westfield commissioned a survey of companies who said they would be interested in having a retail presence in the city. Among the [...]

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Thanks to Paul for photos of the new Apple Centre store in the Beechwood Shopping Centre of Cheltenham (UK). The store mimics the look of the original Apple stores.

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At almost the same moment, Singapore-based hotel and fashion company Club 21 will branch into technology by opening a 10,000 square-foot on the third floor of the Cineleisure Orchard shopping center. The store’s interior was designed by Kathryn Kng, who up until now has worked only on hotels. News reports say she’ll use a black [...]

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Where is Apple going with its 35 to 40 new stores during fiscal 2006? I can only tell you that there are 49 store regions by my count. That means 77 stores are located within the same city or metro area, and 26 single-site stores in the U.S. Looking ahead, it’s reasonable to believe, then, [...]

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Ouch! The New York Post newspaper reports Apple is dropping plans for that Flatiron (NYC) retail store, and instead will “focus” on the GM Plaza store now under construction. The store design received poor reviews from the local neighborhood board, giving Apple second thoughts about the entire project.

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The discovery of Apple’s application with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office for a Service Mark on the word “Vingle” includes a retail angle: the description of the “goods services” described by “Vingle” includes, “Retail store services in the field of entertainment, namely, musical, audio and audiovisual works and related merchandise, provided via the internet [...]

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The Bridgewater (NJ) and Rockaway (NJ) mini-stores will be closed from Oct. 24-28 for a change to stone flooring and installation of a center display counter. The St. Louis Galleria (Mo.) store will be closed Oct. 17-21 for the same renovations. That leaves just two other mini-stores for the make-over.

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At the future Burlington Mall (Mass.) store, display tables along the left side are installed, and the wall behind the Genius Bar has holes for the LCDs. The flooring is mostly finished, giving the impression that the store will open within the next month or so.

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The New York City-based Web site Gothamist has noticed the back-to-school front window display at the Soho store, and the amazing variety of book titles on the shelf. Their amazement is total, and the writer says, “The Apple store might be better taking the book out of the display.” Jake Dobkin continues, “We’re betting that’s [...]

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Thanks to Holland, we know the Oakridge (N. Calif.) mini-store was closed from October 3 thru 7 for renovation. They replaced the floor with dark gray stone floor, and added a small island table near the entrance of the store. iPods are displayed on the table, while the sides of the store have Macs: the [...]

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Oh, the Santa Rosa Plaza (N. Calif.) store is closed this week for the same make-over.

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Love those new iPod nano shopping bags: matte black paper with cloth string handles, with an embossed “iPod nano” type on the side. The dimensions of the bag even mimic the nano’s proportions.

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If you can stand bright-green text, read the experience of one person who knew he wanted to buy a Mac mini, but who just couldn’t make the transaction at his local Apple store. “That such a thing could occur when Apple so desperately needs to leverage iPod sales to Mac sales is reprehensible,” he writes.

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Thanks to silvermeteors for posting the Applescript that surfs Apple’s retail store Web page, collects text and then calculates the number of store in each state and creates a text file of the information. Yikes!

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The management of The Oaks (S. Calif.) mall says the Apple store will open October 24th.

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