The front windows of two Apple stores have broken in the past week, showering passersby with glass, and in one case causing injuries. At Beverly Center (S. Calif.), a woman tried to walk into the mall-based store while texting on her phone, but failed to notice that the door was closed. The tempered-glass door broke into thousands of pieces, and the woman was reportedly not injured beyond her embarrassment. At almost the same moment, a family leaving the Leawood (Kan.) retail store were hit by flying glass when high winds whipped the front door into the front of the building. The couple discovered they had been cut only after leaving the store, but their son was unhurt, as documented in a Gizmodo story and pointed reader comments. See the Beverly Center aftermath after the break. read more…
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A water leak in the fire protection system of the Sanlitun (Beijing) retail store flooded the ground floor and halted store operations for a time on Saturday. Photos taken by a passerby show that workers diked the water spill to contain it, and then used wet-vacs to suck up the water. The iPhone Savior Web site telephoned the store, where an employee said that no Macs were damaged by the flooding. The store opened last July as the first Apple store in China. Check photos after the break. read more…
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A decision by the Greenwich (Conn.) Planning and Zoning Commission threatens to derail plans to locate an Apple store in a former movie theater along Greenwich Avenue. The commission voted 5-0 in June, 2008 to allow the building owner to convert the theater to two levels of retail space totaling 16,052 square-feet. However, the owner later came back with a proposal to remove three apartments on the third level, and construct “storage and back office accessory to a second floor retail space.” However, the commission balked at approving the change, apparently wanting to maintain residential space that’s in line with the district’s character. At yesterday’s regular meeting, the commission reportedly again declined to approve removal of the apartments. The decision prompted attorney John Tesei, representing the building owner, to say Apple wouldn’t move in unless the residential space was removed. And that reportedly has prompted concern among other local retailers that, with Apple absent, the city’s plan to improve business along Greenwich Avenue will falter.
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Despite the global economic slowdown and in the face of investor pessimism, Apple announced today that its first-quarter 2009 retail store revenues were a record $1.74 billion, generating $353 million in profit. The figures mirrored overall results: revenues were a record $10.17 billion, generating a record $1.61 billion in profit. It was the first time Apple had ever sold more than $10 billion in products for a quarter. Apple sold a total of 2,524,000 Mac computers, a nine percent increase over the year-ago quarter, and a record 22,727,000 iPods, a three percent increase. The stores sold 515,000 Macs during the quarter, just shy of record sales. During a conference call with financial analysts, CFO Peter Oppenheimer said Apple will open about 25 stores during fiscal 2009, at least 15 fewer than in previous years. About one-half of those stores will be located outside the United States, he said. “Ron (Johnson) and his team continue to be very selective” in choosing store locations, Oppenheimer explained. read more…
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Construction workers are erecting some serious steel to frame the future State Street (Santa Barbara, Calif.) retail store. The exterior walls of the building will remain the same, according to photos taken this week, but inside the store will be entirely new. According to city permit filings, the store will consist of a main retail floor and a mezzanine area. The store could open by mid-summer. Check photos after the break. read more…
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An unknown number of burglars drove a red Honda Civic into the front window of The Gateway (Salt Lake City) retail store early this morning, and made off with $20,000 of computers, iPods and other merchandise. Police say the attack occurred at 4:30 a.m. and there may be surveillance video of the suspects. The store is on the inside of the mall complex, but a narrow public street allows vehicle access. The burglars maneuvered along the street, turned past the Z Gallerie store, and sped between a flower bed and metal benches, missing a nearby water pond. There’s no information if the vehicle had been stolen. It will reportedly take up to three months to replace the front glass panels. read more…
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The MacNN Web site has rekindled hopes of a downtown Philadelphia (Penn.) store with an insider’s tip that Apple has signed a lease for a space in a Walnut Street building, about 10 blocks from Independence Hall and the Liberty Bell. The tipster identifies the location as 1619 Walnut Street, a six-story building identified to IFO by tipsters back in 2006. The 39,000 square-foot building was most-recently occupied by an upscale restaurant on the ground floor, and offices on the upper floors. The restaurant closed suddenly on January 2nd after the building owner reportedly negotiated a renewal buy-out option from the restaurant owner, who had been paying $19 per square-foot. The building owner hopes to attract a new occupant willing to pay the $57 per square-foot going rate for the Walnut Street area. The ground, second and third levels are available, according to real estate records. The building dates from 1937 and is listed on the National Register of Historic Buildings, indicating Apple would occupy one or more floors, rather than demolishing the structure and building anew. In the 1960s it was home to Westinghouse Broadcasting and laster housed television station KYW. The building sold in March, 2008 for $7.1 million, and the owner has recently upgraded the mechanical systems. read more…
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Macworld keynote speaker Phil Schiller left no doubt about why Apple will no longer attend the annual January conference and expo in San Francisco–the company’s stores already attracts the equivalent of 100 Macworld crowds each week, making the conference unnecessary. Schiller walked on stage and thanked the audience, after generous applause that seemed to acknowledge the last-ever keynote speech. Apple announced last December that it would no longer attend the conference and exposition, and that Jobs would not give the final keynote. Schiller, Sr. V-P of worldwide marketing for Apple, began his talk by spotlighting the retail stores and their success. “It’s an incredibly exicting time at Apple,” he said. “There is so much going on across all of our businesses all around the world. And you can feel it in so many ways, but probably no where better than in all these incredible stores that (Sr. V-P Retail) Ron (Johnson) and his team have opened around the world.” He showed a photo of the Sanlitun (Beijing) store with the grand opening waiting line in front, and called the store, “an incredibly beatiful place.” He showed the Rosenstrasse (Munich) and Fifth Avenue (NYC) stores, and then focused on the George Street (Sydney) store. “A beautiful city has a beautiful Apple store,” Schiller said. read more…
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Apple’s retail stores in Japan celebrated the country’s annual Lucky Bag tradition with a $384 sealed cloth bag that contained a selection of Apple and third-party products. Enthusiasts lined up at Apple stores shortly after midnight on January 2nd for a chance to purchase the bags. One purchaser received an iPod touch, Nike iPod sensor and armband, and a Logitech Pure-Fi Anywhere2 speaker set. The purchase also came with nicely-designed bag, bright-orange commemorative T-shirt and a special 2009 calendar.
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