Two photographs taken by Apple enthusiasts in different countries provide a unique view of Apple’s retail stores. The first photo was taken recently at the future Liverpool One (UK) retail store space, showing a half-finished interior and workers using heavy equipment. The photo provides some intelligence on when the store might open–possibly mid-July. The second photo is even more interesting: the Bridge Street (Ala.) retail store the day before the store opened. It shows that workers removed several of the stainless steel panels from the front of the store, apparently to more carefully position them. Without some of the panels, you can see that the Apple logo is actually the cut-out from four panels of the steel, lit from behind by a rectangular box covered with white plastic. Check the photos after the break. read more…
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Four teenage visitors to the Palo Alto (N. Calif.) retail store were detained by employees, interrogated by the police, photographed, and then told by the manager that their mug shots would be sent to other Apple stores. The actions came after one of the four admittedly downloaded a third-party game onto a store display iPhone. According to a story in the San Jose Mercury, the teens left the store, but were chased down by the manager, who ordered them back to store, where a security guard detained them while awaiting police. No arrests or criminal charges were filed, but the manager gave the four a stern lecture, according to the story. The participants report in an IFO comment that they received an apology from the store manager, who assured them they are still welcome at any Apple store.
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The Liverpool One (UK) shopping complex held its grand opening today, but without the Apple retail store that’s located in the midst of the complex on Paradise Street. According to sources, the store will open in early July, possibly the 5th. Check this mall plan for the exact location, and view photos after the break. read more…
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A huge piece of the Green Monster covering from the Boylston Street (Boston) store has appeared for auction on eBay, with the proceeds going to a local charity. The anonymous seller notes the exclusive nature of the 3-foot by 8-foot section of the green material that covered the glass façade before the store opened on May 15th, saying it was, “was lovingly rescued from the dumpster…carefully pulled apart from it’s sticky self, and backed on light paper.” The value of the piece is enhanced by the inclusion of the right half of the distinctive white Apple logo printed on the piece. Bidding started at $50, and the winning bidder’s money will go to the charity boston2portland, an annual bike ride to raise money for Parkinson’s Disease research. A set of photos on eBay shows the actual piece being removed from the storefront. [Top bid = $500]
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I’ve tweaked the comments section of the Web site to accommodate globally recognized avatars, or gravatars. You can quickly and easily create an account here using just your e-mail address, post a photo or graphic, and now have that image appear alongside your comments on this site (use the same e-mail address in your comment that you used to register your gravatar). Put a face with your words.
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When the huge, 200-acre Park Place (Barrie, Ont.) development opens its first phase of retail space in 2010, it may include an Apple retail store. The lifestyle-style project about 60 miles north of Toronto will include every type of attraction: retail, office, industrial, residential, hotel and entertainment. The city is along Kempenfeldt Bay, and is generally an upscale bedroom community for Toronto workers. The Park Place project will be on the site of the former Molson Park, and will open in several phases starting in 2010 and ending in 2014. It’s unknown when Apple’s space will become available. read more…
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The 24-hour Fifth Avenue (NYC) retail store will close its door on Thursday afternoon, and then re-open early Friday morning, without explanation of why. The store’s on-line calendar shows none of the typical events after 1 p.m. on Thursday, or any events on Friday morning. Previously, the store has been closed only for product introductions or movie production.
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The expensive, custom-made “Green Monster” covering over the Boylston Street (Boston) retail store glass façade is long gone, but now souvenir pieces of the material are beginning to surface. One person has supplied a photo of an irregularly-shaped piece of the green stuff, about nine inches square. The material is described as being the thickness and strength of ordinary duct tape, and with a very strong, gray-colored adhesive backing. The green covering was removed from the glass two days before the store opened, and workers carefully carted it off in a large debris box. Souvenir hunters apparently took some of the material before it was taken away. read more…
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In a record-setting transaction, real estate tycoon Harry Macklowe has signed a deal to sell the General Motors Building, home of the Fifth Avenue (NYC) Apple store. The transaction isn’t expected to affect any aspect of the Apple store’s operation, as the company’s tenancy is governed by a detailed contract. The sale price of the 50-story building wasn’t disclosed, but real estate insiders say it could have fetched as much as $2.9 billion, the highest price ever for a single building. Macklowe purchased the building at 767 Fifth Avenue from Donald Trump in June, 2003 for a reported $1.4 billion. Macklowe later approached Apple for a possible store, leading to the under-plaza and glass Cube design for the store that opened in May, 2006. The Apple store undoubtedly helped lift the value of the building, leading to the record-setting sale.
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The Italy-based setteB.IT Web site has thoroughly investigated the future Apple stores in Geneva and Zurich (Switzerland), and has posted an extensive photo gallery of its tour of both cities. The two-level Geneva store is dead-center in an old-looking building served by the city’s tram system. The store is flanked by Auer Chocolats Cafeteria and a parfumerie, with offices on the upper floors. The Zurich store will be inside a large, five-story stone building along a tree-lined street, soon to be vacated by United Colors of Benetton. Signs in the display windows indicate a 30 to 50 percent off sale, explained with a sign that says, “…due to end of lease.” Construction will reportedly begin on the 2,100 square-foot Apple store in July, and the store could open in early 2009. The setteB.IT coverage also includes a look at local Apple resellers in both cities.
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The management of the Bridge Street shopping mall in Huntsville (Ala.) are telling local media that the Apple store will open there this Saturday at 10 a.m. The store will be the second in the state, and helps fill in a persistent black-out zone that has covered the southern United States since the first Apples store opened in 2001.
read more…
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The complexity of an Apple store is visible to visitors, but beneath the structure of stainless steel, glass and stone is another level of complexity that is just as important. According to city permit records, the electrical, plumbing and other systems inside the store are extensive–and expensive. read more…
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A giant, Bondi-blue banner has been placed over the three-story glass façade of the future George Street (Sydney, Australia) retail store, signaling that the store could open within weeks. The banner is of the same custom-made, 3M plastic material that covered the Boylston Street (Boston) glass storefront, and depicts a “wave” design made of iPods. Tipsters say the covering material is expensive, costing about $10 to $12 per square-foot, or about $25,000 for this 70-foot wide store. A tagline on the covering reads, “Drop in soon. Apple Store, Sydney.” Passersby say the inside of the store is still visibly “unfinished,” while local real estate and construction sources say the store will open in mid-June. read more…
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The grand opening of the Pacific Centre (Vancouver) retail store today revealed that it does not meet the expectations of those hoping for Canada’s first street-level, multi-story retail outlet with a glass staircase. Instead, the public retail floor is just 25 feet wide and 30 feet deep, or just 750 square-feet, tucked inside a downtown shopping mall. There is a single, center-located row of product display tables, and a rear-located Genius Bar. The store did debut a new design feature: a small, back-lit Apple logo hangs from the ceiling at the front of the store, just outside the roll-down security grating. The logo design is based on the huge logo that’s part of the Fifth Avenue (NYC) glass cube design. read more…
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Apple will open a retail store at a relatively small shopping mall adjacent to the United State Air Force Academy, at The Promenade Shops at Briargate in Colorado Spring (Colo.). The mall is just 285,000 square-feet, about one-fifth the size of the mall where Apple usually locates. But the mall attracts customers from a very upscale group of residents in the region along Interstate 25, along with members of the Air Force. At least three spaces of about 5,000 square-foot are available at the mall, including one vacated due to the recent bankruptcy of Bombay Co. The Apple store could open by year’s end.
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