Apple will open its newest retail store in Australia on Thursday morning, inside the Castle Towers Shopping Centre in the far northwest suburbs of Sydney. The store is on the upper level in a huge corner space that faces the center of the mall, next to the David Jones store entrance. It will be the ninth store in Australia, and the fourth in the Sydney region. The store opens at 5 p.m. read more…
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Tipsters and other sources have identified scores of other locations for future Apple stores. Here is a map showing the confirmed stores, and those for which there are very solid tips. Scroll around the world to find all the locations, including China, Australia, Germany, France and the UK.
Also check this map of current retail stores around the world.
View Future Apple Retail Stores in a larger map
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The residents of Perth (Australia) have felt left-out and lonely for years, but their yearning for an Apple retail store will end this Saturday at 9 a.m. when the Perth City store opens on Hay Street in the central business district. A pastry shop moved out of the historic building last year, and Apple gutted the interior but retained the quaint façade, built a modern two-level, steel building behind it, and installed a standard store inside. Passersby will be protected by a stainless steel awning, and can marvel at the unusual window pane pattern, intricate plaster detailing, and huge cornice work at the roof line. Trivia: The rebuilding project also included a bar and office space behind the Apple store, off Wolf Lane—check it out. photos
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For anyone passing the 213 Oxford Street (Sydney) on Thursday, it was easy to miss that an Apple store was set to open the next morning at 8 a.m. But it was obvious no one hired by Apple to work on the Bondi store was lagging. Workers were all over the front of the building during the day, taking down the scaffolding, removing tarps, finishing the sidewalk make-over and clearing away construction materials. Above the sidewalk, a shower of sparks sometimes rained down onto the sidewalk as workers continued to grind and weld the stainless steel on the rain awning. On the roof, workers were performing similar work all day and into the 5 p.m. darkness. Along the west wall of the building, painters applied a specific shade of gray paint that matches Apple’s trademark stainless steel. The paint job may be a temporary step for the grand opening, until the final steel can be installed on the wall. read more…
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Less than 48 hours before it is scheduled to open, the Bondi (Sydney) retail store is hardly a jewel—it is obscured by scaffolding, and covered by black tarps and netting being blown by 20 mph winds and pounded by continuous rain. Beneath the tarps on Wednesday afternoon, workers on the roof, on scissor-lifts and on the ground were grinding, pounding and making other noises that indicated heavy work still needs to finished for Friday’s 8 a.m. grand opening. From the street, there is barely a hint that the building will be an Apple store. A small patch of stainless steel is visible on the west wall of the building, but other sections are covered with paper or protective boards. The scaffolding and construction netting prevents a view of the storefront, and obscures the inside of the building as workers duck under the coverings and into the front door. The brightest light on the block is from “Australia’s Cheapest Chemist,” a gaudy, bright-yellow building next to the Apple store, which advertises with red and blue signs, “50% off Prescriptions.” Bins of merchandise on the sidewalk in front of the chemist will eventually compete with Apple’s back-lit logo shining though the front glass. read more…
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A long waiting line is expected for the grand opening of the Bondi (Sydney, Australia) retail store this Friday at 8 a.m., kicking off the 2010 grand opening season that includes even more spectacular stores in Paris, London, Shanghai (China), Chicago and Washington (DC). The store is located at the Bondi Junction shopping mall southeast of city center, but inside an independent building with a large, two-story glass storefront. The design is similar in placement and architecture to the Scottsdale Quarter (Ariz.) store that opened in June 2009. The store’s most significant feature has been hinted by photos of the construction, and by architectural renderings for other future stores—first-ever indoor trees under a skylight. Plans submitted to building officials in Palo Alto (N. Calif.) and Washington (DC) for new stores have also shown three or four 10-foot trees in front of the back-wall Genius Bar. The 8 a.m. opening time is unusual, no doubt set to maximize selling time for the iPad, which becomes available in Australia for the first time on Friday.
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Once again, Apple’s retail stores will be the focus for the company’s latest technology gadget, the iPad (Wi-Fi) when it goes on sale for the first time April 3rd only at the stores. In a statement, Apple said customers can place on-line pre-orders starting March 12th for pick-up at the stores on debut Saturday. Apple used the pre-order sales technique previously, when the iPhone 3G-S first went on sale last summer. At that event, the waiting lines were divided into two lanes when the stores opened for the two types of iPhone buyers. In general, there seemed to be few attendees who showed up early for a pre-ordered purchase. Just last week, Apple COO Tim Cook told a technology conference that the iPad debut will be limited to the United States, “where we have sales people that can answer questions, and we feel good about the answers they’ll give.” Apple’s statement today said several other countries will begin selling both models of the iPad “in late April.” Not coincidentally, those countries coincide with the presence of Apple’s retail stores—Australia, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Spain, Switzerland and the UK—with the exception of China. Apple added that the iPad Wi-Fi + 3G can also be pre-ordered starting March 12th, but won’t be available until late April. read more…
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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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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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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 group of alert Apple enthusiasts in Perth (Australia) have tracked down the probable location for a future retail store in that city: 790-794 Hay Street in city center. As first posted on the MacTalk forum, on November 19th an application was filed with the city planning agency for partial demolition at the rear of the distinctive three-story building, which dates to 1910. Then on December 1st an application was filed for, “Refurbishment of Existing Building — Apple Inc.” The 8,700 square-foot parcel fronts onto a one-way street, and its neighbors include a hotel, offices, parking structure and various retailers. The former tenants—a restaurant and pastry shop—have already moved out. The brick building is considered historic, and approvals for any demolition or renovation could take many months to obtain. A store in Perth would be the first in the western portion of the country. read more…
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Apple has announced that the Chermside (Brisbane) retail store will hold its grand opening this Saturday at 10 a.m. It will be the first store for the Brisbane region and the sixth store in the country. The store is set inside the Westfield Chermside shopping mall, north of city center.
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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…
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Apple will open a store in the city of Perth (Australia) early next year, the first location in the western region of the continent. The exact location of the future store isn’t know, but it will definitely be in center of this coastal city of 1.6 million residents. It would be the sixth store in the country, fulfilling Apple’s recent focus on increasing the number of international stores.
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This Saturday, the 11th, will feature several grand openings: Spain's second store, at the Xanadú mall in Madrid, the Richmond Centre and Upper Canada Mall in Canada, and the Boise Towne Square (Idaho).