Trafford Centre - Nov. 15th

Thanks to Ian for this update and photos of the Trafford Centre (Manchester, UK) store in mid-November. He says all the computers are up and running, and everything appears finished.

The no-door design is not unique, but usually reserved for U.S. mini-stores. In this case, the narrowness is compensated by a very deep space--it has six bays instead of the standard four. The product areas are also rearranged: 'music' and 'home' are at the front, along with a table of iPods.

The store's stainless steel front fits into the rather narrow space, leaving the wood trim on either side and the address medallion above. The sign on the easel says, "Grand opening soon."

The narrow space dictates no display window glass or door, and a roll-down security grating. Inside, you can see the traditional product bays, a standard stone floor and wooden display tables.

You can barely make out the overhead signs indicating the various product areas--'music' is the first one on the left, and 'home' is the first on the right. The front-most display talbe appears to focus on iPods. You can count six bays along the left side of this very deep store.

Each store in the Centre is identified with a space number, displayed on an elaborate medallion. Here's the Apple store ID above the back-lit Apple logo.

For now, this is the best view of the store!