Microsoft reportedly has plans to open four more dedicated stores than reported earlier, with one of them marking its first international expansion. The Canadian store is due to open in Toronto before the holidays, The Verge has learned. It will reportedly be joined by another international store this year, with more to follow early in 2013.
As promised, activists representing Change.org and SumOfUs delivered petitions to Apple Stores in New York City, Washington, San Francisco, London, Sydney and Bangalore on Thursday, according to AdAge. About 199,000 Change.org signatures were recorded, with another 57,000 from SumOfUs. In both cases, the groups are asking for Apple to come up with a way of reducing worker exploitation at Chinese suppliers like Foxconn.
Over 250,000 signatures from petitions on Change.org and SumOfUs.org will be delivered to New York City's Grand Central Apple Store on Thursday morning, according to an announcement. The effort is part of a campaign to push Apple to develop a "worker protection strategy," in light of stories of poor labor conditions at Chinese Apple suppliers like Foxconn. Employees are known to often work extreme amount of overtime for little pay, sometimes in dangerous conditions.
Sam's Club, a discount chain owned by Wal-Mart, is said to be in early talks with Apple on expanding the two firms' existing relationship, which may include developing Store-Within-A-Store (SWOS) concepts similar to what Apple is already doing with Best Buy and Target. Sam's Club is said to be just one of a number of retailers Apple is exploring expanding the concept to, and may see the retailer carrying Macs as well as its current iOS offerings.
Microsoft through its Facebook page and separate confirmations has confirmed another retail store opening that will clash with an Apple location. The new store will open in northern Austin's Domain shopping center, a location Apple has occupied since 2007. It hasn't given a date or an exact position of where the store will be located.
Apple will at last reopen its main Pasadena retail location on Saturday at 10AM, the company has announced. The store has been out of commission since April, when it closed for remodeling. A nearby temporary outlet has been serving the public since then.
Apple's new retail head, John Browett, was "the best by far" in terms of possible candidates, says company CEO Tim Cook. One blogger, Tony Hart, says he received a personal response from Cook after sending an email with his own thoughts on the hiring. "I talked to many people and John was the best by far," Cook's message reads. "I think you will be as pleased as I am. His role isn't to bring Dixons to Apple, [it's] to bring Apple to an even higher level of customer service and satisfaction."
Apple chose early Tuesday to reveal that it had persuaded the CEO of UK retailer Dixons, John Browett, to become its Senior VP for retail. The shift will fill the vacuum left since June, when Ron Johnson left to become the CEO of JC Penney. Apple CEO Tim Cook described the decision to hire the overseer of chains such as Currys and PC World as a reaction to having met Browett and his reputed focus on the customer.
Apple retail workers' advocacy group AAPLRetailUnion has tweeted that the company's charitable gift-matching program, begun by CEO Tim Cook in September, has now been extended to part-time employees in the US (and will go worldwide soon). The program matches donations to 501c(3) charities by US workers up to $10,000 per year. In the short time the program has been active, Apple and its employees have given over $2.6 million to charity.
Apple has changed the way it handles accounting for its flagship retail stores, a new Securities and Exchange Commission filing shows. Prior to its fiscal first quarter, which ended December 31st, the company had 20 "high-profile" retail stores which were treated separately in terms of finances. "Prior to 2012, the Company allocated to corporate expenses certain costs associated with its high-profile retail stores that have been designed and built to promote brand awareness and serve as vehicles for corporate sales and marketing activities," Apple writes.
Kicking off with a two-page newspaper ad (seen below) that serves as a new "mission statement" for the company that says it is "rethinking and reimagining" its store experience, J.C. Penney Company kicked off celebrations for its 110th anniversary with new CEO Ron Johnson at the helm. Johnson spent 11 years as Apple's Senior VP of Retail and was the key person responsible for the Apple Stores and other concepts, reports his colleague and industry observer Ken Segall.
Apple CEO Tim Cook has credited the company's recent retail innovations, which include the online option of in-store pickup of purchases as well as a new self-checkout option that incorporates into the stores' EasyPay system with an eponymous iOS app, with helping Apple Stores see significant jumps in visitors and revenue across 2011. Average revenues per store grew 43 percent to $17.4 million, while visitors grew 45 percent to an average 22,000 per week.
Apple Stores are now selling an average of $4,709 in goods per square foot, an amount nearly equivalent to the value of the White House, says real estate site Zillow. The White House is estimated to be worth about $4,752 per square foot, although for different reasons. Some luxury retailers are believed to have greater value than Apple, but not any chain based within the US.
An unusual arrangement between Apple, a nearby train station and the contractors who did work on both has resulted in a lawsuit from Colony Insurance against Apple, the Chicago Transit Authority and contractor Petter Construction Company over liability on an accident claim that originated when a woman slipped and fell in the construction area between the then-in-progress Lincoln Park Apple Store and the also-renovated subway station next door.
Apple is taking steps toward building two more French retail stores, says MacGénération. The first is in the commercial center of Quatre Temps à la Défense, in the Parisian district of Puteaux. Apple has reportedly filed an application to run a business there, although an exact location in the center is unknown.
Apple could open retail stores in India following a change in local ownership rules, says a senior official with the country's Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion. Apple has been in talks with the department for "some time," according to local business publication Mint, and is allegedly eager to retry the Indian market after having failed to make headway in 2006. Under previous rules, single-brand retailers like Apple would have had to have had at least a 49 percent domestic investment; now they can claim full ownership.
Apple is planning to bring its store-within-a-store concept to the Harrods department store in London, England, sources within the latter company are said to claim. The store is a significant tourist attraction in the city, thanks to its unique architecture and size. Harrods spans 5 acres, with about 1 million square feet of showfloor space.
The New York Daily News is reporting that Heskel Group Chairman Yeheskel Elias is in "preliminary talks" with Apple about a store in the Queens section of New York City after a broker from Apple reached out several months ago. The developer, who is quoted as saying he will "do anything I can to bring Apple in," may have sabotaged the deal by speaking of it with the press. Apple generally requires participants to stay mum about future stores.
Additional details have emerged on three more future Apple Stores, notes ifoAppleStore. In Italy, job listings have appeared for a new store in Torino, one that was previously just rumored for more than two years. One possible address may be the former Mondadori bookstore on Via Roma 80, an arcade situated in the midst of other international retailers. Apple tends to prefer building stores in luxury or at least high-profile shopping areas.
HP has unwrapped a super-sized interactive display wall. The VantagePoint combines six high-resolution displays to create a seamless 11-foot by 4-foot (132-inch diagonal) screen. HP sees multiple applications for the wall including executive briefing centers, showrooms, retail, financial services, automotive, airline, home goods, and government.
Two more future Apple stores have been uncovered thanks to magazine features and a European Mac website, retail tracking site ifoAppleStore reports. One will be in the French city of Aix-En-Provence, not far from Marseilles, while the other will be in the north of Switzerland where it meets the French and German borders in the town of Basel. A magazine from the Aix-en-Provence region revealed renderings for the planned store, showing it to be nearly transparent.
Apple took the unprecedented step of freezing some iPhone 4S sales in China following its high-profile launch. Following reports of possible fighting overnight during the lineup, Apple said it was temporarily holding off at its official Beijing and Shanghai stores. The company wanted to protect the safety both of its customers and its workers, Apple said.
Target has confirmed plans to host Apple mini-stores in its retail chain, Reuters reports. Initially, at least, the effort will be limited to 25 Target outlets, a part of a new "the Shops at Target" initiative revealed in New York. Separately, some other companies getting special treatment will be Miami's The Webster and San Francisco's The Candy Store, who will be featured in Target outlets and web sales for six weeks beginning in early May.
A Mac news site in Germany called iTopNews has taken photos of the construction going on around what will be Berlin's first Apple retail store, located in a historic century-old building that was once named the "Vienna." The building has been curtained without activity for some months, and largely empty since a Dali exhibit there in 2008. It will be the ninth store in Germany.
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.
Apple is aiming at opening new store-within-a-store outlets in Target later this year, an AppleInsider source claims. The company's initial plans are said to be limited to 25 larger Target stores, ones which are nevertheless in areas unable to support a separate Apple Store. Target has some 1,752 shops in the US; by contrast, there are only 245 Apple Stores in the country.
Canada may get as many as four new Apple stores in 2012, but if reports from Nova Scotia are true, however, one store may go against Apple's trend of placing stores in the highest population centers and will instead land in Halifax, the provincial capital but home to only 400,000 people. The rumor, which has circulated in various forms for years, is recently supported by unusual renovations and unusual secrecy from the main mall in town, iPhoneinCanada claims.
French reseller eBizcuss is getting some support in its lawsuit against Apple, says ChannelWeb. The website recently received a 4,400-word letter from an anonymous European Apple Premium Reseller, likewise complaining about product shortages. The APR also alleges, however, that resellers are suffering cash flow problems due to Apple cutting credit lines, and that Apple partners are stepping into APR territory and forcing down margins through SMB (small-to-medium business) and education deals.
Three people have been arrested following a robbery of the Scottsdale Quarter Apple Store in Arizona, reports say. In the early hours of January 2nd, the thieves smashed through the glass front door of the building, and proceeded to take about $75,000 in iPads, iPods, and MacBook Airs. A passing driver noticed the incident, though, and started following the thieves as they drove down Scottsdale Road around 2AM.
Japanese shoppers lined up in front of Apple Stores on New Year's Day for a chance at a lucky bag, reports note. Lucky bags are New Year's tradition at Japanese retail; store visitors have to pay for them, but in exchange they get a mystery collection of products, typically at a discount. This year Apple is said to have charged 33,000 yen (about $428), and offered some lucrative items.
A former Apple Store Genius and a group called the Apple Retail Workers Union are reaching out to top-level Apple executives following a firing at the Arrowhead outlet in Glendale, Arizona. Neither party is going into many details about the incident, but the ARWU claims in a press release that the Genius -- who has elsewhere identified himself as Chad Ramey -- "was bullied by management to quit or be fired after a simple misunderstanding." The activist group adds that "Rather than let tempers settle the employee was cornered in the managers office and asked a coworker to be present, who then witnessed a confrontation that should never have been allowed to escalate as far as it did."
The glass door to the Lehigh Valley Apple Store in Whitehall, Pennsylvania shattered for the ninth time this year last Wednesday, a report says. The incident is attributed to sub-freezing temperatures and the wind, which started at about 8mph at sunrise but gusted up to 37mph by 1PM. As a store visitor opened the door, the wind caught it and threw it fully open, causing it to break into a "million tiny pieces," according to one person in the vicinity.
Plans are in motion to build a new Apple Store in the Canadian city of London, Ontario, a report notes. City records detailing a $3 million construction project at the Masonville Place mall include an Apple logo. ifoAppleStore real estate sources meanwhile specifically say that Apple will move into an upper-level space, one being vacated by Eddie Bauer this week because of an earlier bankruptcy filing.
Officials in Madrid have approved renovations for the building where Apple will establish the city's third Apple Store, reports say. The city's deputy mayor, Manuel Cobo, has announced at a press conference that 1 Puerta del Sol will keep its exterior -- which dates back to the 1860s -- while making some important technical improvements. "It is one more link in the process of downtown revitalization, which will contribute to increasing commercial and tourist attractions of Madrid," Cobo is quoted as saying in translation.
Apps and digital media were a fifth of all the spending online during Christmas Day, comScore said on Wednesday. Those paying either individually or through subscriptions for apps, e-books, music, and video shot up from the 2.8 percent average between the start of November and December 26 to exactly 20 percent on December 25. The spike could be directly attributed to a rush of mobile devices, mostly on Apple's iOS, as well as gift cards.
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 mobile device users have accounted for more than 90 percent of online retail purchases originating from a mobile device so far this month, reports market analysis firm RichRelevance. The company collected data from 3.4 billion online shopping sessions from online US retailers between April and December of this year. The percentage is actually up from 88 percent at the start of the survey in April.
Apple spokesperson Amy Bessette has confirmed that a new Apple Store, soon to be built in Palo Alto just one block from the existing one, will serve as a prototype design, "building on everything we've learned" in ten years of creating retail spaces, The Mercury News reports. The new facility will feature a curved glass roof and facade that leverages natural light with an unobstructed view of the showroom, elements taken from the recently-patented design of Apple's Upper West Side store in New York City.
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.
Apple is working on replacing its current Santa Rosa Plaza outlet in California, sources claim. The shop is one of the smallest in Apple's chain -- measuring only 450 square feet -- and in fact one of just two remaining mini-stores of a group of six that launched in 2004. Apple quickly abandoned the mini-store concept, opting for increasingly larger spaces.
Apple's chief finance officer Peter Oppenheimer is temporarily filling in as the company's retail lead while it looks for a replacement for former retail senior VP Ron Johnson, a rumor maintained Friday. He was considered an interim leader by 9to5's source and was delegating broader orders to Real Estate VP Bob Bridger, international retail operations director Steve Cano, and merchandising VP Jerry McDougal. Neither Bridger nor McDougal were considered in the running, although one rumor had Cano as a candidate.
The public launch of the Grand Central Apple Store in New York City has drawn hundreds of people, accounts and photos show. The outlet opened at 10AM local time, by which point many people had been waiting line. Those towards the front of the line reportedly waited overnight with sleeping bags; Apple workers distributed Smartwater bottles.
While those strongly invested in the latest Apple news are often well aware of planned Apple Store openings months before they happen, the actual preparation work for securing the sites are often veiled in Apple's notorious secrecy. On the eve of the New York City Grand Central Station opening, CNN has launched a two-part report on the sometimes preferential, sometimes deferential treatment Apple demands of its retail landlords.
Microsoft took a low key approach Wednesday to trying to counter Apple's Genius Bar service. AnswerDesk.com takes much of the company's Answer Desk service from its retail shops to free, live chats on the web. Along with diagnosing technical problems with Microsoft software, they also provide the same non-emergency help, such as training users on Office and Windows.
Apple today held a special press preview event for the Grand Central Apple Store, which opens to the public December 9th at 10AM. An accompanying press release mostly reiterates existing details, but does reveal some facts. The store will play host to 315 workers, for instance, and use not one but two Genius Bars.
The self-checkout system now in place at US Apple Stores is working out well, in spite of concerns, according to a CNBC source described as "familiar with Apple's retail operation." Called EasyPay, the technology lets users of the official Apple Store app scan some accessories and buy them without having to talk to an Apple clerk. Even prior to its launch it was worried that the system might provide a cloak for shoplifters.
A new Houston Apple Store, still under construction, borrows the design of Apple's Upper West Side shop in New York City, reports indicate. The Highland Village outlet likewise sports an all-glass storefront and roof, flanked by limestone side walls. Distinguishing the new location is the addition of a glass rear, and the shifting of back-of-house space to a nearby building, rather than a basement.
Having just recently confirmed a December 9th opening, Apple has now posted an official webpage for the Grand Central Apple Store in New York City. The shop is technically located at 45 Grand Central Terminal, and on the 9th will launch at 10AM. Regular weekday hours will begin at an unusually early 7AM, just an hour after the terminal itself usually opens.
New York's Metropolitan Transportation Authority has issued a press release claiming it doesn't feel threatened by the state comptroller investigation into the lease terms for the Grand Central Apple Store. "Bring it on," the release reads. "This is the best possible deal for the MTA, quadrupling the rent we receive and bringing foot traffic to Grand Central Terminal that will increase revenue from all of our retailers. We look forward to explaining the details of this competitively bid transaction to anyone who is interested."
Apple has narrowed down a location for its first Swedish store, sources claim. The address is believed to be Hamngatan 15, located within a rich shopping district in downtown Stockholm. The seven-story building dates back to 1881 but was recently renovated by a new owner following its use as a department store.
