Apple begins hiring for first Berlin store
updated 03:10 pm EST, Wed December 21, 2011
Kurfürstendamm still believed to be site
Apple has quietly confirmed plans for its first Berlin store. Local websites ifun and Macerkopf report that the company has posted job listings for the outlet, calling for a full range of retail workers. Although Apple isn't specifying the exact location of the store, construction and black barricades have been spotted at Kurfürstendamm 26, the site rumored for almost a year.
The three-level building dates back to 1913, and was originally a stage theater, but later became a cinema. The first and second floors are said to measure 7,000 square feet apiece, while the third floor spans almost 10,000; a basement area should provide another 9,300 square feet. The interior has reportedly been renovated "extensively" over the course of its history, but based on construction schedules, the shop is still only expected to open in mid-2012 at the earliest.
Apple has been steadily growing its retail presence in Germany. Despite being the capital, however, Berlin has been conspicuously absent from expansion plans. There are already two Apple Stores in Hamburg, and still more in Augsburg, Dresden, Frankfurt, Munich, Oberhausen, and Sulzbach.
