Despite the economic crisis, information from tipsters and other sources indicate no slowdown in Apple store grand openings for the first half of 2009. According to an IFO analysis, at least 11 stores could open between January and June, indicating that 36 stores might open for the entire year, a figure in line with 2005-2007 activity. Historically, 30 percent of store openings have occurred in the first six months of the year, allowing a forecast for the remainder of the calendar year from those figures. In this case, there are at least three stores that were planned for a 2008 opening, but which encountered delays that have pushed the openings to 2009. At least three additional stores have been planned for other countries that will likely open during the first six months of 2009. Another six stores could open during the first half of 2009, depending upon construction progress. The outlook beyond June 2009 is less certain, although indications are that at least 15 stores are in the latter stages of planning that will lead to an eventual opening. read more…
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Apple has riffled through its standard architectural playbook, but still can’t come up with an acceptable storefront design for a proposed retail store on Wisconsin Avenue in the Georgetown district of Washington (DC). According to The Current, a weekly neighborhood newspaper, Apple’s latest design was turned down by two neighborhood boards earlier this month, putting the project in limbo. Apple purchased the property at 1229 Wisconsin Avenue last year for $13.3 million and has received approval from District officials to demolish the building formerly occupied by a French Connection clothing store. The interior of the building has been gutted, but further construction is stalled until Apple’s architects can obtain approvals on a design. read more…
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Facing an uncertain 2009, and perhaps acknowledging poor December sales, Apple has reduced the number of paid hours for its retail store employees in the United States. Multiple sources say the cut-back will eliminate all hours for part-time employees, leaving only full-time staffers to handle sales and service at the stores some time in January. The part-time staff are not being laid off, sources say, and will remain on the payroll for recall if visitor traffic requires additional staffing. Retail analyst ShopperTrak RCT Corp. reported pre-Christmas visitor traffic at its member stores, which includes Apple, was down 23.7 percent compared to 2007, while sales were down 5.3 percent. ShopperTrak blamed much of the declines on winter weather across a large portion of the U.S. during the last weekend before Christmas. A typical mall-based Apple store staffs up to 40 part-time employees who work fewer than 20 hours per week. Like other businesses, the use of part-time workers reduces staffing costs because the employees have reduced or no benefits. The part-timers also allow companies to strategically staff-up for busy periods of the day or during the week.
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After 15 months of meetings and contentious court filings, the attorneys for two disabled women and Apple Inc. have reached an agreement on a lawsuit alleging the San Francisco store does not meet the requirements of the federal Americans With Disability Act (ADA). As usual with such cases, the terms of the settlement were not dislosed in court filings. Jana Overbo and Nicole Brown-Booker filed the lawsuit in September 2007 after visiting the two-level San Francisco and finding the aisles were too narrow, shelving was too high and the elevator was too difficult to find. The women also said the store’s employees did not accomodate them during their visit and that a Genius Bar counter wasn’t convenient. After a year of meetings, Apple held to its position that the store meets all accessibility requirements, while the women’s attorneys took the opposite position. Earlier this year both sides told U.S. District Court Judge Susan Illston they were deadlocked, and asked for mediation. That process did not lead to a settlement, and last October the women’s attorney asked Illston to move the case directly to a trial. However, Illston denied the request and ordered both sides back to mediation. In the most recent court filing, the attorneys said they had settled on the injunctive issues, including a consent decree and damages. But a court filing adds that “issues relate to payment of plaintiffs’ attorneys’ fees, litigation expenses and costs” have not been settled. The attorneys noted the “approaching holidays,” and asked permission from Illston to postpone a December 18th meeting to January 20, 2009, “so that the Parties can either settle these issues or agree to make an attorneys’ fees motion to the Court.” Download (pdf) the latest court documents. Update: Both parties later agreed to postpone the January 20th meeting to February 2, 2009, and then on that date asked the judge to postpone the settlement conference again to February 16, 2009. “Whereas, the Parties are presently finalizing the Settlement Agreement and proposed Consent Decree…” the court document states.
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Apple is switching to new small-product packaging that spotlights the contents with a nearly life-size photo of what’s inside the box. The all-black boxes are are appearing on Apple store shelves, and include the World Travel Adapter Kit, MagSafe Power Adapter and the full line of laptop batteries. The silhouette design makes it easier to spot the products on the tall, floor-to-ceiling accessory shelves of Apple stores, and also makes it obvious what’s included with the product. Several larger products, including Apple TV, have used a similar type of “X-ray” type box designs for the past year. read more…
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Apple shoppers in London (Ont.) will receive a New Year’s gift when the local Mostly Digital authorized reseller moves into a new 3,200 square-foot facility next January, right in the middle of a territory with no Apple stores. The company has operated since 1995 as an Apple specialist, and now with Apple’s approval and assistance will upgrade the store to offer the largest selection of Apple gear in the region, along with in-house, on-site product service and repairs. The store will feature the look-and-feel of Apple’s own stores so visitors can have a hands-on experience with products. It will also carry a selection of third-party products that Apple’s store don’t: digital cameras, camcorders, television, home theater and audio gear. Mostly Digital has recently upgraded its on-line store to handle more products to allow 24-hour shopping and has seven warehouses to speed deliveries. The nearest Apple stores are in Toronto (120 miles east) and suburban Detroit (130 miles east).
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The nearest Apple store is over 2,600 miles away from Dubai (UAE), but shoppers in the country along the Persian Gulf still have a place to find all the latest products and services–the authorized reseller iStyle store at the enormous Dubai Mall. The store features a glass façade that is reminiscent of the Fifth Avenue (NYC) store cube, wood floors, wall graphics and sidewall display tables. Visitor Felix says the store offers a full range of Apple products, along with warrant repairs. Check photos after the break. read more…
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A visitor to the Fifth Avenue (NYC) retail store reports that display computers there are configured to allow access only to a short list of Web sites that includes Apple.com, CNN, the BBC, The New York Times and several other newspapers. “Oops!” says an alert flashed by the OS X parental controls feature if you try to surf a Web site not on the approved list. “To add this website to your approved list…you need an administrator password,” the alert explalins. The stores have selectively used site blocking for several years, particularly at larger stores where “computer hogging” is rampant. It’s reported that individual store managers have the authority to impose access limits, and that there is no blocking policy that applies to all stores. read more…
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The showcase Apple retail stores are one reason the company will no longer participate in the annual Macworld Conference and Exposition in San Francisco, the company announced late Tuesday in a short statement. The company said that Sr. VP of worldwide marketing Philip Schiller will give the final keynote speech at January’s Macworld in San Francisco, instead of Steve Jobs. Both pieces of news surprised analysts and industry observers, and led to speculation on Jobs’ health, the company’s financial position and the success of its products. Macworld is traditionally the company’s most-anticipated and watched event for new products and the company’s direction. In its statement, the company explained, “Apple is reaching more people in more ways than ever before, so like many companies, trade shows have become a very minor part of how Apple reaches its customers. The increasing popularity of Apple’s Retail Stores, which more than 3.5 million people visit every week, and the Apple.com website enable Apple to directly reach more than a hundred million customers around the world in innovative new ways.”
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All of Georgia’s Apple stores are clustered within a 27-mile circle north and east of Atlanta, but not for long. Apple will open a retail store at the Augusta Mall in that city, 125 miles east of Atlanta. The 1.1 million square-foot mall along Interstate 20 is operated by General Growth Properties, and features 134 shops. The mall completed a Main Street-type expansion and renovation (The Augusta Promenade) last month, where Apple could open by July 2009.
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Apple will fill in coverage of its retail stores in the area south of Puget Sound (Wash.) when they locate a store inside the Tacoma Mall in that city. The mall is located along Interstate 5, and has just completed a 100,000 square-foot lifestyle expansion where Apple may locate. The Seattle region is now served by four Apple stores, but they are all along the eastern rim of Puget Sound and at least 25 miles from Tacoma. The store could open by July 2009.
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The local Apple reseller in Santa Barbara (Calif.) may see his sales drop 30 percent in the first year after a new Apple retail store opens in the city next Spring. The CraigSmithBlog.com Web site interviewed Mac Mechanic owner Mike Bishop, who estimates Apple is spending $2 million to reconstruct the building at 928 State Street, and signed a 10-year lease for $67,000 a month. “The future looks kind of bleak,” Bishop told Smith. He recently purchased the building he was formerly renting, and renovated the interior to closely match Apple’s own stores. He says his profit margin is just eight percent, which Apple stores can undercut simply by offering the company’s standard 10 percent educational discount. “It’s not fair!” Bishop said. Resellers in other cities have seen a 20 to 30 percent decline in business after the arrival of an Apple store, he said. See a construction photo and read the full story here.
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The battle for customers among Apple retailers is heating up, with prices posted at on-line resellers dropping below the only discount that Apple offers–for education customers. The price competition means that price-matching at Apple’s retail stores is now even more important for the company to maintain the retail segment’s revenues. Reseller MacMall has “slashed” prices to Black Friday levels again for a limited time, and virtually all are below Apple’s educational discount. Amazon.com is offering more low-key discounts of up to six percent plus a $100 rebate on Macbook Pro models, only a slight discount on iMacs, but almost a seven percent discount on Mac Pros. Check the chart after the break.
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A huge crowd packed the plaza in front of the new Rosenstrasse (Munich) retail store Saturday morning to await the moment when the door swung open for the first time. The weather was cold, but there was no rain or snow to dampen the spirits of the crowd. There were reportedly 4,000 visitors to the store within the first four hours. Dennis Voss, a veteran of several other grand openings in Europe and the United States, started the overnight waiting line at 1:30 a.m. and was first through the doors when the store opened at 10 a.m. Check photos of the waiting line and the grand opening on the setteB.IT Web site, these flickr sets by smokeonit and Oifi74 and Isik, and this amazing panoramic QTVR of the storefront. Watch a YouTube video after the break, or surf this Vimeo video. read more…
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There’s a festive holiday mood in front of the Apple store on Rosenstrasse in Munich (Germany), as passersby stare into the windows where workers are making final preparation for Saturday morning’s grand opening. Several buildings are outlined with lights and the nearby Marienplatz square is decorated with a huge iPod nano “dripping colors” poster. On Friday evening Apple held the traditional VIP reception that includes business and city leaders. The weather at 11 p.m. local time is clear and 37°F., and will eventually dip down to 33°F. overnight. Saturday’s forecast is 39°F. and a chance of rain. Check the latest report from setteB.IT Web site. Update: The waiting line has begun, with Dennis first-in-line at 1:30 a.m. local time. Check the Munich Webcams that include the Marienplatz area.
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