Construction efforts are due or underway on two Apple retail expansions, according to ifoAppleStore. The first is a previously rumored new location in Sydney, Australia, on the third floor of the Broadway Shopping Centre. A black facade (pictured above and below) is now covering units 303 to 307, indicating that the finished shop will measure nearly 6,000 square feet.
A political row has surfaced over plans to build a larger Lincoln Road Apple Store in Miami Beach, Florida, notes the Miami Herald. Earlier in the year Apple proposed demolishing a structure at 1001 Lincoln Road, about a thousand feet from the current store, in order to create a bigger outlet (seen in images) featuring a predominantly glass design with a tall stone sidewall. Heritage organizations protested, given that the target building dates back to 1926. Apple withdrew its proposal, but business leaders are said to be worried that Apple might simply move to a different city and take heavy shopping traffic with it.
Apple's rapid retail expansion plans also appear to include new shops in Denver, Colorado and Sarasota, Florida. A source indicates that a second Denver outlet will be built at Union Station, which is being rehabilitated to make it a major hub for transportation, commerce and gatherings. The developer includes an Apple logo in a video rendering of the project, but this is now claimed to be more than just wishful thinking.
Apple is continuing its recent efforts to expand existing stores with one of its shops in Orlando, Florida, sources say. In the city's Mall of Millenia complex, Apple currently occupies a small ground-floor space which is said to be constantly flooded with visitors. When a lease on a larger second-floor space occupied by Z Gallerie came up for renewal earlier this year, the sources claim that Apple jumped on the prospect and ultimately outbid Z Gallerie.
As part of a continuing trend of expansions, Apple is looking to upgrade its retail stores in Honolulu, Hawaii and Miami Beach in Florida. With the latter Apple has been encountering some difficulty, and has in fact withdrawn a proposal to demolish a building near the current Lincoln Road outlet. The company is hoping to move along the same street from a 738 address to 1001, putting it in an upscale shopping district with pedestrian foot traffic. The city's Historic Preservation Board objected to the proposal though, which would have seen the construction of large stone walls similar to those of the Upper West Side store in New York City. The HPB wants the walls to be smaller, and more critically to match the historic architecture in the district.
Plans for four more Apple Stores are progressing in the US and in Europe. In Sarasota, Florida, management at the Westfield Southgate mall has acknowledged being in talks for an Apple location. When the store would open is uncertain, but it may reportedly arrive by the end of 2011, and fill a gap in Apple Stores between Tampa and Naples.
The US government has indicted 27 people suspected of belonging to a fraud ring targeting Apple Stores, reports say. The group is accused of making fake credit cards using stolen data bought from the Internet, and in turn fraudulently buying $1 million or more in goods from Apple Stores in 13 states. Products like Macs and gift cards were fenced to bring in cash.
The arrest of two men following an incident at an Apple Store in Tampa, Florida appears to have solved a series of thefts in the area, a local Fox affiliate says. At the International Plaza Apple outlet, a customer spotted two men grabbing iPads from a stack on wall display. After reporting the theft, a mall security guard is said to have confronted the shoplifters in the parking lot, who sped away in a vehicle after dropping the stolen iPads.
A Florida man, Michael Katz, is accusing Apple of breaking the state's Civil Rights Act through its promotion practices. Starting in March 2006, Katz began working at the Millenia Mall Apple Store in Orlando. 60 at the time, Katz says that he several times sought the chance to be promoted to Creative status, but was denied in every instance.
TJ Maxx has confirmed accounts that it is now selling the iPad. In a Twitter post, the company acknowledges that select locations are carrying the tablet at a base cost of $400. Those outlets aren't being advertised however, and each one only has a limited number of tablets in stock.
Apple's iPad marketing efforts are being helped through two different public exposures, reports note. In Tampa Bay, Florida, Watergrass Elementary School has given away 16GB Wi-Fi iPads to 13 fifth-graders, a gift for the students as they graduate to the sixth grade. The tablets are also meant to help with future homework and research. An Apple saleswoman who has worked with Watergrass, Andrea Barr, says a photo from the giveaway may be used in an upcoming ad.
Apple has announced that its newest retail store will open in Brandon, Florida, on Saturday, May 24th. The location is within the Westfield Brandon Mall at 459 Brandon Town Center, and situated next to Black and White, across from Dick's Sporting Goods. Monday to Saturday hours are 10AM to 9PM, while Sunday hours are curtailed from 11AM to 6PM.
