East coast, west coast…all around the world, Apple is opening five retail stores this Saturday. The openings begin in Belfast (N. Ireland) with the 9 a.m. opening of the Victoria Square store, the first on the island. The store will provide exposure to a metro population of over 1 million residents. An overnighter for the grand opening is being planned. Next, the Park City Center store will open at 9 a.m. in Lancaster (Penn.), providing more center-of-state coverage. Next, the Promenade Shops at Briargate (Colorado Springs, Colo.) will open at 10 a.m. to extend coverage south beyond Denver. Next, two stores open in California: at the North County mall in Escondido (southern) and the Hillsdale Shopping Center in San Mateo (northern), both at 10 a.m. The former fills in coverage between LA and San Diego, the latter adds to the well-covered San Francisco peninsula. By day’s end, Apple will have 240 stores open, just two short of its promise of 242 stores by month’s end. What’s a store look like before stocking? Check a photo after the break.
Here is a typical mall Apple store completely finished, but before it's been stocked with merchandise by the employees for the grand opening
