Two stores surround London

Details of several new confirmed and rumored Apple Stores have emerged. Two in the confirmed category are both planned for the UK; one will be located on the upper level of Festival Place in Basingstoke, 50 miles away from London. Job listings have been up since last week, and construction is already underway. Also currently hiring is a shop that will open in time with the Westfield Stratford City mall in September. The location is just five miles away from London city center, and will be extremely close to the site of the 2012 Olympic Games.

The other confirmed store is in Australia, where Apple has unusually listed a job identified only by the postal code "3205," meaning South Melbourne. Any reasons for the ambiguity are unknown, but rather than secrecy the company could simply be building in a location that has no formal name. The South Melbourne outlet will be roughly 12 miles away from its Doncaster and Chadstone siblings.

Back in the United States, Apple has allegedly finalized plans to launch a store in the Promenade at Chenal mall in Little Rock, Arkansas. The outlet has been rumored since at least May 2007; in January 2008 Apple posted job listings, but then went mysteriously quiet. In October 2010 area reporters learned that plans were once again in action, and new job listings appeared just last week.

More uncertain is a possible corner store on St. Charles Avenue in New Orleans. 3338 St. Charles is presently home to a closing Borders bookshop, and Apple's real estate team is said to be one of several that have contacted Stirling Properties about the location. While south of normal tourist areas, it has a 250-foot facade and is situated along the city's famous trolley tracks.

by MacNN Staff