The big changes have apparently begun: Apple has posted Creative job openings for virtually all of the stores not previously staffed with the positions. The position was first introduced in Aug. 2004 and rolled out to about 20 stores, but now each store will have at least one full-time Creative. According to the job description, [...]

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Apple officially posted the grand opening of the Staten Island (NY) retail store as October 15th.

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Attention Apple stores! SmashMyiPod is enroute to your store to buy a brand-new 20 Gb model, and then open up the box inside the store and smash the player to pieces! The event will be videotaped and posted on the Web site, says the site’s owner, who apparently has the Yorkdale (Canada) store in mind. [...]

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Thanks to Scott, who has created Google-based maps of all the Apple retail stores, along with individual store information. And if you’re really curious and patient for the calculations, he’s prepared a map of the U.S. showing each store’s “sphere of influence” (60 and 100 km).

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Lastly, during previous conference calls Oppenheimer said that new-to-Macintosh computer sales at Apple stores was in the “low to mid-40%” range. During today’s call he said the figure was “more than 45%.”

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During the conference call question-and-answers, Oppenheimer acknowledged a “Fifth Avenue” store in New York City, and said Apple expects it will open “during fiscal 2006.” The store is commonly known as the GM Plaza store location, and is at 767 Fifth Ave. in lower Manhattan. Oppenheimer also said the “majority” of new stores during 2006 [...]

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During a conference call, CFO Peter Oppenheimer said Apple will add 35 to 40 stores to the chain during fiscal 2006, about as many as opened during 2005. He also said revenue and profit was up for the stores: $663 million in sales (up 19% vs. previous quarter), and $35 million profit (up 21%). The [...]

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Apple reported its highest revenues and profit in history today: $3.68 billion in sales for the quarter and $430 million in profit. That’s an increase of about 5% and 34% respectively over the previous quarter. Furthermore, CFO Peter Oppenheimer said in a press release that this quarter’s sales should total $4.7 billion, another huge 27% [...]

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I’m anxious to hear Tuesday’s financial conference call, and any mention of the changes coming to the Retail segment. Could it be a redesign, expansion into more regions of the world, or even iPod-only stores? Your speculation is as good as mine.

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I continue to receive feedback from Philadelphia residents about the Walnut St. construction site in Philadelphia. On the other hand, retail store job listings have surfaced on Craigslist.com that indicate a Philadelphia store is in the work.

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The Brent Cross (London) retail store will hold its grand opening December 10th, a tipster notes.

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The Staten Island (NY) store will hold its grand opening on October 15th, according to Apple’s Web site. It will be the 125th retail store to open, and just 15 days beyond the goal Apple had earlier set for itself.

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You may recall that Apple Centres in South Africa have a close relationship with Apple itself, which explains why job listings for the Centres closely resemble those for company stores.

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The Gateway (Utah) shopping center expansion is on-track, including the accompanying Apple store location. Thanks to Kelly for a trio of photos.

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The future Southlake (Tex.) store location has now appeared on Apple’s job Web page, confirming a Nov. 2004 tip by AppleInsider.

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You may recall that Apple’s representative will appear before the Portland (Ore.) Historic Landmarks Commission on Monday for design advice about a future store at 23rd & Glisan. But Retail PR manager Monica Wik tells the “Portland Oregonian” newspaper, “We have not made any announcements in regards to any additional stores opening in the Portland [...]

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