Apple Shops Coming to Australia

The Courier Mail (Australia) Web site says that the Myer department store chain will open “a handful” of Apple “store-within-a-store” areas in Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane over the next year. The company said the project was its own idea, but have consulted with Apple on the design. “The objective of the Myer Apple Store was to provide a space where customers can experience first-hand the Mac difference, as well as the iPod and how the two offerings interact together,” the company told the newspaper. In a rare public statement on retail, Apple-Australia spokeswoman Fiona Martin told the Courier Mail that Myer’s Apple stores would have no bearing on Apple’s plans for Australian retail stores.