Always moving slowly to ensure perfection, Apple is now prepared to accelerate the expansion of its retail stores in China, opening up to 25 stores over the next two years to serve a country of over 1.3 billion citizens. The rapid expansion is in line with Apple’s overall emphasis on international store expansion, but also signals increased experience and confidence in China retailing, which can be complicated by national politics and local regulations. Apparently Apple has gained sufficient insights from the operation of its first China store that opened in August 2008, and feels it’s ready to tap the potential of the country’s growing economy. The China plans were announced by Sr. V-P Ron Johnson during this week’s stockholders meeting in Cupertino, in response to an audience question about expanding international sales. Johnson didn’t provide any location or timing details, leaving company followers to speculate where Apple might locate 25 stores. read more…
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One day after Idaho’s first Apple store was revealed, Apple has tossed another retail dart at the Pacific northwest. It’s been confirmed that the company will open a store at the River Park Square shopping mall in downtown Spokane (Wash.). The city is just as underserved by Apple stores as Boise, which will also host a store later this year. The red-brick, three-level mall faces onto the Spokane River and, understandably, Riverfront Park. It’s also adjacent to the city’s convention center and arena, which draws visitors to a wide range of events. The store could open by the end of September.
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Far out and left out. That’s the way Idaho residents have felt for nine years without an Apple retail store. Now their laments will end with confirmation of a future store at the Boise Town Square shopping mall along Interstate 184, west of downtown Boise. It will be the first store in Idaho, whose residents have had to drive to one of the other 41 other states that have already received an Apple store. Apple’s nearest store is 342 miles south in Salt Lake City, about a five-hour drive, but long-time reseller MacLife has been filling the void with sales and service at two locations. Apple has said that the majority of its new stores this year will open outside the United States, making this store location all the more fortunate. The store could open by September.
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Apple enthusiasts scouting the future Lincoln Park (Chicago) retail store have spotted clues indicating there will be three entrances to the rectangular building, including one leading out to a garden and plaza, and a new red-brick façade for the adjacent CTA transit station. The building sits on a basically triangular piece of land, but will occupy a rectangular space, very similar to the Scottsdale Quarter (Ariz.) and Manhassett (NY) stores. Those stores have large glass windows at both ends, but only one entrance. At the Lincoln Park store, glass “awning” panels are visible at both ends of the store, installed for visitor rain protection, and indicating doors at both ends. Also, wooden crates of stainless steel were just delivered, and some are labeled “West Lobby,” indicating an entryway on the west side, facing a plaza now under construction. Next, trucks have delivered bundles of red brick for the exterior walls of the Halsted subway station, which Apple has offered to completely refurbish for nearly $4 million. Lastly, the pizza parlor that occupied a corner of the CTA building has closed, and there is construction underway inside. It’s unclear if the business will re-open with the same tenant. The Apple store is on-track for a mid-summer grand opening. View photos after the break. read more…
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The Apple community in Germany is expressing surprise at the company’s latest choice for a retail store—the huge Centro shopping mall in Oberhausen, a pleasant but otherwise unremarkable city in the northwest region of the country. The mall is certainly a logical choice—it’s a regional attraction not only because of its 200+ shops, but also because of its water park, model train world and sealife park. But the choice by-passes Berlin, the country’s largest city and long overdue for an Apple store. The Centro store could open by mid-September.
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Fresh on the heels of tips that Apple is planning a store in Valencia (Spain), evidence has been spotted that Apple will open stores in Barcelona and Madrid, possibly by the end of this year. Apple executives have previously said that store expansion during 2009 and 2010 would focus on new stores outside the United States. But until now, that expansion has focused on the UK, Germany, France, Switzerland, Canada and Australia, leaving Spain store-less. Now job listings have appeared for Barcelona, possibly at the La Maquinista shopping mall northeast of city center, and for Madrid, possibly at the Xanadu Shopping Mall & Skiing Center, 15 miles southwest of city center. Tipsters have not yet tracked down the exact location of the future stores within the mall. Last month tipsters in Valencia pointed to a city center building where Apple is expected to open a store later this year.
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Among Canada’s largest cities, one has been obviously without an Apple store—Quebec. But now multiple sources say that the black construction barricade on the ground level of the Place Ste-Foy shopping will open later this year as an Apple store. As first reported by 9to5Mac, tipsters told the Le Soleil newspaper in January that Apple was in lease discussions with mall developer Ivanhoe Cambridge. Now 9to5Mac has confirmed that a lease has been signed, and says workers at the mall have confirmed Apple’s eventual presence. Based on construction progress, the store could open by this fall.
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The southern coast of France is lovely in September, as mild sea breezes and bright sun waft across the beaches and through iconic towns—Cannes, Saint-Tropez and Nice. Now Apple is landing on the Côte d’Azur, when a store opens at the Cap3000 (Nice) shopping mall this fall, serving 347,000 residents and millions of annual tourists, many arriving by cruise ship and ferry boat. The mall is tucked away behind the city’s airport, somewhat distant from the long, curving beach that is Nice’s postcard view. But a large parking lot and public transport bring the mall thousands of visitors. The location of the store within the mall is unknown, but it could open by September.
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Apple is heading to the suburbs of Sydney (Australia) for its next retail store on the continent. The company will open a store at the huge Castle Towers shopping center, about 18 miles northwest of the existing George Street retail store, possibly by this September. The mall has over 300 shops and eating spots, spread over an expansive 1.1 million square-feet. The mall boasts that shoppers in its service area have an average household income 24% higher than Sydney, which puts it about mid-way among income for Apple’s United States store customers. Apple also has a store planned for the near-Sydney suburb of Bondi Junction, possibly opening in August.
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A series of tips to a France-based Web site about two new Apple store locations have been confirmed—stores will open in Lyon and the Paris suburb of Vélizy-Villacoublay later this year. As reported by the MacGeneration Web site, a store will open at the La Part Dieu shopping mall in Lyon, in the mid-south of France. The city-center mall is adjacent to the city’s train station, was recently expanded, and attracts shoppers from a wide area. The second store will open at the huge Vélizy 2 shopping mall southwest of Paris, not far from the Palace of Versailles. The mall received a 2007 facelift and includes a multi-screen cinema a 7,000 parking spaces. Both stores could open by this September.
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Sources in China have revealed where the company will open its two announced retail store in Shanghai this year, including inside the city’s tallest building. The Shanghai Daily newspaper reports that Apple spokesperson Huang Yuna confirmed that one store will be installed inside the Shanghai World Financial Center, an impressive 101-story building completed in 2008. The city center building includes offices, a hotel, three observation decks and two levels of retail space. The second Apple store will be on Huaihai Road M, real estate sources told the newspaper, an elegant shopping district somewhat west of city center. The exact timing of both grand openings isn’t known, but they could occur before the announced second store in Beijing, on Qianmen Street.
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Sources in the real estate industry say that Apple’s first retail store in Spain will appear later this year in Valencia, inside an historic building along the city’s main shopping thoroughfare. As reported by the ABC.es Web site, the store will be located in a three-story building at Calle de Cristóbal Colón 25, designed by noted architect Lucas Garcia Cardona in 1889. According to the sources, Apple is working through city approvals to renovate and upgrade the building to accommodate an Apple store. The location is across from the street from the large El Corte Inglés department store, and within a three-minute walk to the city’s train station and bullring. According to the Web site, city officials are willing to allow “maximum changes to the (building) permit…without compromising the special protections afforded the (historic) building.” The store will occupy the basement and ground floor, while upper floors will be occupied by back-of-house and Apple offices. The store could open by year’s end, the Web site states. read more…
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If the Carousel du Louvre (Paris) store is located where it’s at, the future Opera District store is where it’s happening. That’s the difference between the two locations, even though they’re located less than one mile apart in the City of Light. While the Louvre store is located underground and surrounded by old works of art, the Opera District store will be at the center of a vibrant district of clubs, restaurants, the city’s iconic Opera House and several large department stores. A reconnaissance of the neighborhood begins by climbing the stairs out of the Opera Metro subway station, revealing the huge columns that frame the façade of the Opera House, built in 1875. read more…
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Recently released planning documents for the future Covent Garden (London) retail store demonstrate the extraordinary lengths to which Apple’s architects are going to renovate and preserve the building’s architectural features. The 1878 building includes an eight-bay arcade marked by 20-foot stone arches. Inside, the two-level store will feature a spiral glass staircase, a 30′x40′ courtyard topped with a glass skylight, and original brick and masonry walls. According to the plans, workers will perform extensive renovations to existing metal work and masonry, both cleaning them and replacing broken or damaged fixtures. The sub-divided interior space will be modified to create a single, more unified space. Bronze work will be added to the outside arcade, along with renovated gas lights. A large and architecturally significant wood staircase will be relocated to a side entrance leading to the upper floor Apple administrative offices. In a complicated renovation to lower a portion of floor by four inches, workers will remove a set of brick arches piece-by-piece, photograph and number them, and then rebuild the arches to match the new floor height. In one section of a filed document, window repair is described: “Overhaul all ironmongery and replace defective ironmongery to match original, allow for careful piecing-in timber where repairs where necessary and for replacing sash cords, parting bead and rebalancing sash weight, refix and repair the frame.” Find links to the documents after the break. read more…
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The structural steel construction for the future Lincoln Park (Chicago) retail store is finished, the structure is enclosed, and design work on the adjacent plaza and garden is underway. Photos posted by Zolk on flickr show the shell structure swathed in a teal green covering, where the stainless steel siding will eventually be hung on the east and west sides of the building. Blue tarps cover the north and south ends of the structure, which will eventually be all-glass to give the store a see-through effect. In mid-winter Chicago, work is now focused on the inside of the building, and on the westside plaza between the Apple store and Chicago Transit Authority (CTA) subway entrance building. The final design of that plaza is still under review, since photos seem to show mock-ups of tree, planter box and shelter locations, and samples of the plaza concrete surface. Apple has agreed to remodel the adjacent CTA entrance building and below-ground subway station. No work on that project is visible yet. Photos after the break. read more…
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