The Eaton Centre (Toronto) retail store will be closed for five days beginning August 11th in preparation for a major renovation. It will then re-open, presumably in a smaller space while construction goes on around it. The store opened only two years ago and features the V2.0 interior design, so it’s not clear exactly what work will be performed at the 4,977 square-foot store. Is it possible that one of the next-door retailers is moving out to provide an additional 3,200+ square-feet of space?
Will the existing Eaton Centre retail store expand into one of the adjacent spaces?
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{ 11 comments… read them below or add one }
The eaton center Apple Store is no version 2.0
This is the current design
http://www.flickr.com/photos/mrbeng/145371254/
The eaton center will be renovated to likely have no doors… a wide entrance…they will get rid of the cash till area at the back..
Basically they are having a makeover with all aluminum like the current stores opening today.
Example
http://flickr.com/photos/sheshymaroii/2638882705/in/set-72157605993480454/
That is the new V.2 design
None of the stores next door are closing
Source: I asked a Manager when I was there about the renovations
Could it simply be a new store front. I know the new store here in Vancouver has a different store front than most (with the apple logo hanging from the celling as opposed to the aluminum that surrounds most fronts), so maybe they could be changing to a similar one?
Good call Eric. Those glass dividers are remnants from the V1.0 and those are going as the “sections” (home, pro, photo, etc.) went away. The metal interior is also probable, but at least they don’t need to redo the floor as it’s already the stone. I wonder if the front window displays will stay, or go like the actual new stores that are opening.
-Brian
I can confirm that the Eaton Centre Apple Store will NOT be expanding, their neighbors BCBG and some shoe store I can’t remember the name of will not be vacating.
It looks like one of the biggest changes is to the front of the store – it’s been expanded outwards slightly and will feature a different exterior look. The cash-wrap at the rear is also being removed I believe.
Eaton Centre hasn’t had a cash wrap at the back for months now, they converted the cash wrap at the back to the studio.
I looked beyond the door in the hoarding today (Tuesday) and can report the following. They have TOTALLY gutted the old store walls. Drywall is removed from the side walls. The ceiling remains, but the open space now has been divided with steel studs in various new wall arrangements. I really can’t figure out what the floor plan is intended to be. It sure looks like the previous space will be chopped into smaller components. I will continue to monitor.
I was in the Rogers store downstairs today (Wednesday August 13th), and I asked the guy if he knew anything about the renovations. He said Apple keeps a large stock of iPhones in the back for warranty purposes, and he thought that maybe they were having theft problems, and they were now installing a new security system.
Yes, I spoke to one of the staff at the Apple Store Eaton Center right before it closed temporarily. That was to prepare to open a mini store WITHIN the existing store. They’re just updating the rest of the store to be more modern and look like all the other new Apple Stores. Apparently many employees of the Eaton Center location have been shipped to Sherway and Yorkdale.
what, no one has pictures?
Shipped to Sherway and Yorkdale eh! Is that why Yorkdale has a 5:1 ratio between employees and customers! The store is so damn packed its hard to breathe!