Several Web sites are reporting that Apple’s retail stores will open early to begin selling the latest version of the company’s operating system–OS X 10.6, dubbed Snow Leopard. However, the company’s retail Web pages don’t mention different hours for the stores and, in fact, the operating hours of many stores are limited by local zoning laws and shopping mall regulations. Only the Fifth Avenue (NYC) store will change their normal “always open”–they’ll close at 10 p.m. Thursday and re-open at midnight Friday to begin sales. Interestingly, Apple has separately listed store hours over the four-day Labor Day weekend–and they seem to be the same as the stores’ regular hours. The holiday traditionally signals the end of the summer, and comes just days ahead of the expiration of Apple’s annual Back To School promotion on September 8th, and a scheduled press event on September 9th that is expected to focus on music and iTunes. Check gallery for Friday morning Snow Leopard coverage. Do you have photos of the debut? E-mail your photos to the gallery for everyone to see–ifoman-tx31@post.me.com. read more…
![]()
The move of 40 Apple Inc. employees to a five-story building in Amsterdam (The Netherlands) has sparked speculation that the building’s ground floor might eventually house a retail store. According to the Dutch-based One More Thing Web site, the employees are being relocated from the suburb of Bunnik, about 33 miles southeast. Amsterdam is a major tourist destination, making it a logical location for an Apple store. The employees are moving to the historic Hirsch Building at Leidseplein 29, which dates back to 1909, and originally belonged to an international fashion house. It sits at a prominent and very visible corner, overlooking a huge intersection where the city’s tram line passes by. The building is topped with a 124-foot copper dome that made it the tallest retail building in The Netherlands at the time. Inside, a huge atrium and other architectural details give the building a spectacular appearance. According to lease documents, office space on the upper floors is offered starting at about $47 per square-foot annually. Presumably ground-floor retail space would be more expensive. There’s no timeline for when an Apple store would open in the building. read more…
![]()
Apple’s international retail expansion continues this Saturday with the grand opening of the Alstertal (Hamburg, Germany) retail store, the second store to open in that country. The store is located in space #37 on the ground level of the shopping center northeast of city center. The center has 240 shops, and draws shoppers from a wide regional area with a 3,000 space carpark. It will be the second store in Germany, after the Munich store which opened last December. read more…
![]()
Two new stores will open this weekend in Texas and Massachusetts, including one store that reportedly is the design prototype for future locations. On the east coast, the Legacy Place store will open at 10 a.m. Saturday in Dedham (Mass.), southwest of downtown Boston. It will fill in coverage for the existing eight retail stores in the region. Meanwhile, the sixth store in the Dallas-Fort Worth region will open at 10 a.m. Saturday at the Stonebriar shopping center in Frisco, northeast of the metroplex, and about eight miles north of the existing Willow Bend store. Tipsters say the interior design of this store is evolutionary, and represents the latest iteration of Apple’s iconic stainless steel design.
![]()
Police in Stamford (Conn.) have arrested a 36 year-old man on pornography charges after an Apple store Genius discovered suspicious photographs on the Powermac G5 Macintosh the man brought to the Stamford Town Center store for a software problem. Raymond Miller was taken into custody as he waited inside the store to receive his computer. According to Sgt. Joe Kennedy, an unnamed Apple employee was diagnosing the computer’s problem when he saw photographs of young children in sexual situations. The employee alerted a Stamford police officer stationed at the mall, and the man was arrested. Kennedy said police also searched Miller’s home and are examining the seized desktop. Miller is being held on $75,000 bail.
![]()
The upcoming remodel of the Keystone (Indianapolis) retail store will create a black-out zone in the midwest, forcing Apple customers in the region to drive at least 124 miles to the nearest store in Ohio. The store on the city’s north side is among 100 stores scheduled for remodeling over the next few months, and will close starting Sept. 7th for the usual changes to flooring, furniture and layout. The store–the only one in Indiana–opened in November 2002 and occupies a key position among the midwestern states. read more…
![]()
The latest version of Apple’s Macintosh operating system will go on sale this Friday at the company’s retail stores, potentially creating another in a long series of street events that feature long waiting lines and enthusiastic buyers. The Snow Leopard version of OS X is considered a major release of the operating system, although many of the new features are beneath the instrument panel. Previous upgrades of OS X have generated waiting lines, although they have become shorter over the years. Apple has not yet announced if the retail stores will open at their regular time on Friday, open early, or would close at 5 p.m. and re-open at 6 p.m. for Snow Leopard sales.
![]()
Police in Arlington County (Virg.) have arrested a 21 year-old transient in connection with the attempted robbery of the Clarendon Apple store on July 3rd, and the shooting of a store employee. Byron Dean was arrested July 12th on other charges, police said, and has been in jail ever since. He is charged with malicious wounding and being a felon in possession of a firearm, and is being held without bail. A 26 year-old, unnamed female employee was shot in the shoulder after she opened the back door of the store and was confronted by the suspect. Her condition or work status isn’t known.
![]()
The construction barricade has been removed in front of the future Carosello di Carugate (Milan, Italy) retail store, revealing a standard glass and stainless steel storefront. However, photos on the setteB.IT Web site show that the windows are covered with black material, preventing a view inside the store, which will be only the second in Italy. The store does have one unique feature–the storefront consists of two panels of different widths, set at a slight angle to one another. Several other spaces in the mall have similar configurations. Based on the progress of construction, the store could open within a month.
![]()
Speculation about construction of a look-alike Apple building at 21-25 West 34th Street (NYC) can be put to rest–it will not be an Apple store. The exterior of the two-story structure is forming up, consisting of silver-colored metal and large windows. However, several key indicators provide proof that–for now–it will not be an Apple store. First, the unfinished exterior of the building is completely in public view, which Apple never allows for its own stores. Second, the architecture of the building is completely unlike any other street-level store that Apple has opened. Lastly, public documents filed with the city provide a better explanation of why this building is taking shape. According to tax documents, Apple signed a 15-year lease on the 75-foot wide space in November 2005, with an option for an additional five years. The lease stipulates that Apple must construct at least a two-story building on the 7,200 square-foot property. As first confirmed by others in January 2007, Apple later decided not to pursue the location for a retail store, allegedly because of the “third-rate tourist merchants” along 34th Street, according to one retail broker. It’s not possible to tell if the structure of the building has been constructed to allow future conversion to one of Apple’s own stores. read more…
![]()
A group of Master’s students at University of Leeds (UK) has focused their dissertation on the Apple retail stores, and they are now looking for information from customers about their attitudes towards the chain. The short survey asks if you agree or disagree with questions about the stores’ design, service and the company’s brand personality. They are specifically looking for UK store feedback, but will also accept responses about other stores. Surf the on-line survey to help them out.
![]()
After a long and heated battle by art deco preservationists in Melbourne (Australia), Victoria state officials have given the owner of the Lonsdale House permission to demolish the five-story building and widen an adjacent street by 13 feet to accommodate delivery trucks that might be servicing a future Apple store. The “Save Lonsdale House” group said the building was not only an excellent example of a classic architectural style, but promoted it as, “a chance for Melburnians to stand up for our community rights in the face of developers and the government.” However, critics said the original building at 269-273 Lonsdale Street in city center had been remodeled twice in the 1930s, diluting its historic significance. Now, with approval in-hand, property manager Colonial Global Asset Management says it’s soliciting tenants for the store, and confirms that it’s been in talks with Apple to lease space, possibly on the first two levels as shown in a speculative rendering of the future building. However, Darren Steinberg of Colonial Global says no leases have been signed for any tenants. The project with 240 stores could be completed by late 2012, he says. read more…
![]()
Apple continues to focus its retail attentions on upgrading existing stores, more than opening stores at new locations. And there is now a long list of stores closed for remodeling, along with several that will receive future make-overs. Right now, the following stores are closed for remodeling: Saddle Creek, Walden, Mayfair, Twelve Oaks, Southdale, Walnut Creek, Barton Creek, Annapolis, Perimeter and The Pier. The closures range from 10 days to nearly three weeks, and involve stores that opened before August, 2006. Tipsters say that International Plaza (Fla.) will also close soon for a remodel. Company officials say they intend to remodel 100 stores this fiscal year. So far, Apple has remodeled at least 50 stores over the past two years.
![]()
In a year of few grand openings in the United States, Apple will open three new stores this weekend: the Main Place location in Naperville (Ill.), at the store at Reston Town Center (Virg.), and at the huge Square One mall outside Toronto (Ont.). Both stores will expand the existing network of stores in their respective regions–Chicago and Washington (DC). Both stores will open their doors for the first time at 10 a.m. The Square One store will open at 9:30 a.m., and will be the fifth store in the region. The company has said they will open only 25 news stores this fiscal year, compared to 51 during fiscal 2008, and that most of those will be at international locations. So far, Apple has opened 13 new stores, and seven of them have been outside the United States.
![]()
Microsoft has confirmed the precise locations of its future Scottsdale (Ariz.) and Mission Viejo (S. Calif.) retail stores, and posted photos showing the construction barricades painted white and sporting various product logos and the new retail trademark. As reported here last week, the store inside Scottsdale Fashion Square will be in space #1288 (pdf), a 60-foot wide space on the lower level, about midway in the mall. The Mission Viejo store will be in a 75-foot wide space (pdf) just off the mall’s main atrium. The company announced the malls last week, and earlier this week posted job listings for employees to staff the stores. read more…
![]()
Loading ...