Filed under: Retail

Apple is on track to open a raft of stores around the world, having largely rolled out the stores it needs in the USA. Still, some cities need extra capacity, so the retail gods in Cupertino have seen fit to bestow upon us two more stores this weekend and another later this month.

Macsimum News reports on a new store in Lexington, KY opening this Saturday at 10am -- the city's second Apple Store. ifoAppleStore reports the opening of another store in Columbus, OH. The following week Philadelphians will get their third Apple Store. Enjoy the expanded shopping options, locals! Anyone remember when the only Apple "store" was in Cupertino?

Shanghai and Paris just got new Apple stores, and now it's London's turn. A red curtain in London's Covent Garden district shows the latest location for an Apple Retail store -- rumor has it that the store will open as soon as the end of this month, and will likely be a popular destination in the tourist-busy shopping and theater district.

Apple's Regent Street store recently got recognized for making incredible amounts of money as compared to its size -- £2000 per square foot. Apple Stores, as you well know, tend to be a little bit larger than usual retail spaces, and the sales pitches are pretty low pressure, with the opportunity to just play with the products. But it works, apparently, so Apple's Covent Garden store will be the latest of 40 to 50 different store openings around the world this year.

We've heard great things already about the brand new Apple Store in Shanghai, but this one's interesting: on the back of employees' t-shirts there (which are red, apparently, rather than the usual black found in North America), Apple has printed "Designed in California, Made for China" in Chinese. That's obviously a play on the "Designed by Apple in California, Assembled in China" that you'll find on the back of your iPhone and many of Apple's other products.

Cult of Mac checked in with Chinese gadget blogger Chris Chang, and he says that the reference does play in Shanghai. He was at the store when it opened, and says that Apple is definitely pushing to do better in China, and create more of a presence there. That's really interesting -- Apple's not only trying to simply sell its products over there, but it's actually localizing the brand a bit to do so.

Now that Apple has held a pre-opening of Shanghai's first Apple Store (China's second) for the press, we can finally get a look inside. Shanghaiist has published a great article about the store, complete with a large photo gallery. Here are some incredible facts about this new location:

• The cylinder (40 feet high) contains the largest curved glass panels in the world
• There are more hands-on gadgets to play with than any other Apple Store (but no iPads or iPhone 4s yet)
• It's one of the largest Apple Stores
• It's got one of the largest Genius Bars

Several new Apple Stores either opened or are set to open this weekend. Here's a look at what's going on.

In Shanghai, China, the curtains have been removed from the huge glass structure that sits atop the city's new flagship store. Flickr user Lesh51 has posted some great shots of the removal process. You can plainly see the cylinder itself, the familiar Apple logo, and the interior spiral staircase that leads to the underground retail space. His aerial shots offer an overview of this store's dramatic location. This store will open this Saturday at 10:00 AM local time.

Meanwhile, the Opéra Store in Paris is finally open, and it's a stunner. The layout, both inside and out, differs dramatically from what we typically see. Here's a gallery of photos that show off this beautiful space. Even Steve showed up to check it out. Enjoy Paris, Steve!

Here in the States, Apple Store, Haywood Mall is set to open in Greenville, SC this Saturday. It will be South Carolina's second Apple Store and the 295th store opened overall. It's located in the Haywood Mall, at 700 Haywood Road, in Greenville. You'll find it on the lower level of the Sears wing, next to Abercrombie & Fitch. Doors open at 10:00 AM local time.

Apple will open its newest retail store in Shanghai, China on Saturday, July 10th. Invitations that feature a red curtain, much like the one that currently drapes the huge glass cylinder that sits atop the store, are being sent to interested parties.

Much like the 5th Avenue Store in New York City, Apple Store Shanghai is underground and topped with a huge, glass structure. Adding to the drama are two 1,000 foot tall skyscrapers flanking the store's entrance. Once it opens, this will be China's second Apple Store.

If you attend the opening, please send us your photos and reports. This looks like a spectacular store and we're eager to have a look.

[Via 9to5 Mac]

If you're thinking you can overcome AT&T's move to stop taking iPhone 4 pre-orders by power-walking over to Best Buy to get your pre-order on before anyone notices: not so fast.

Following AT&T's move, Best Buy pulled a big ol' "me too" today and, according to their iPhone 4 FAQ page, are no longer taking pre-orders of the new phone. The Best Buy website assures those who were already successful in placing an iPhone 4 pre-order with them that their orders will be honored. However, it's still possible latecomers won't get their phones until the early-July timeframe due to their processing them on a first-come-first-served basis.

As you might recall, Apple boasted pre-sales of about 600,000 units before AT&T had to stop accepting new pre-orders. That number was said to include those that Best Buy processed. I'm just wondering what percentage of that 600k was processed through Best Buy rather than AT&T and Apple stores.

I can't believe one is considered a "latecomer" a mere two days after this all started.

[via The Mac Observer]

If the tsunami of e-mail we just got is anything to go by, it appears the online Apple Store may be down. (Checking: yes, it's down.) Since the store is down overnight on a weekday, that's a pretty good indicator that it's not just down for maintenance. With iPhone 4 pre-orders set to take place sometime today, it's a fair bet the store is down while Apple prepares for the onslaught it's about to receive. We'll try to keep you updated on the store's status, but you'll have to bear with us... most of the TUAW team is asleep at the moment.

Update: The store is back up. As predicted, iPhone 4 is now available for pre-order, but only in black. The white iPhone is currently unavailable, with no indication of when it will be on sale.

Readers report that they're having trouble getting preorders through on the online store in some cases. Patience...

Boy Genius Report and a few other sites have heard that Apple is set to introduce a new official app tomorrow, one centered around visiting and shopping at the Apple Store. Supposedly, the app will be free, and will allow users to set up and check Genius Bar appointments, sign up for training, and check availability or even purchase Apple items. BGR says the icon will be blue and have just an apple on it. We have heard this rumor before, but apparently tomorrow is looking like release day for it.

TUAW has also heard from a trusted source that the app will be released tomorrow, in conjunction with iPhone 4 preorders. We've also heard that you will be able to purchase items directly from the app, as well as set up store reservations. So this is looking more and more like a sure bet. We'll of course keep an eye on the App Store tomorrow and let you know what we see.

Two new Apple Stores are nearing completion, and they both look fantastic. The first one is in Shanghai, China. Much like the famed 5th Avenue Store in New York City, this location is underground and topped by a mass of glass. It sits at the base of two skyscrapers, both 1,000 feet tall, and is topped by a huge cylinder of glass. You can see the structure in the video above, draped in grey cloth. Watch as the camera operator moves in close; a floating Apple logo is clearly visible. Unfortunately, there's no solid opening date for this location.

Meanwhile, curtains have also been employed in Paris, France, where the grand opening of the Opéra (Paris) retail store is just weeks away. Why the name" Opéra" and theatrical curtains? Because this store is just across the street (almost) from the city's iconic Opera House.

This isn't the first time Apple has gone with a theme to obscure the facade of a store in progress. Before Boston's Boylston Street location opened, its storefront was decorated to resemble Fenway Park's Green Monster. Good luck to the crews working on these projects! If you're in the area and you snap a picture, please let us know.

[VIa ifoAppleStore]

Maybe it's not surprising that a flat surface touched by thousands of fingers would end up harboring some nasty critters, but the Daily News has a word to the wise for iPad shoppers in the Big Apple: BYO hand sanitizer. The paper surreptitiously swabbed and cultured samples from iPads at the 5th Avenue flagship store and at the unfortunately-nicknamed "Meatpacking" store on W. 14th Street. Turns out those oleophobic screens don't repel everything.

One of the cultures turned up Staphylococcus aureus, a nasty pathogen that's responsible for skin infections and other illnesses. Another showed less-virulent yeast and bacterial contamination.

Apple insists that it keeps the iPads clean and that the stores are a healthy environment... but perhaps a small dispenser of antibacterial wipes would be in order. In the meantime, before and after playing with those iPads -- wash your hands!

Note: As commenters have pointed out, the Daily News neglected to sample other commonly-touched items like subway railings and doorhandles -- chances are they would have found similar bugs in those places, too.

We've mentioned how closely Microsoft's retail stores resemble Apple's, and now they're even physically close. At least in one Washington mall.

Downtown Bellevue reports that Microsoft will open a store in the Bellevue Square Mall, just three spaces away from an existing Apple Store. Feeling a little cramped, Apple will relocate its store to a new spot that's further away from its rival, around a corner and down a long hallway.

This isn't the first cat-and-mouse game that the two companies have played with their retail stores. Last October, Microsoft opened a store in a Mission Viejo, California mall with an Apple Store. Two months before the grand opening, Apple closed their location, enlarged and renovated the place and then re-opened one month after the Microsoft store opened. The two spots are just under 400 feet apart.

[Via ifoAppleStore]

A tipster sends news that we're closer than ever to the opening of the new Apple Store in Chicago, at the intersection of North and Halsted. We first heard about this store just over a year ago, and since then, we've heard that Apple's made a significant investment in the project, beefing up the burgeoning retail area just above the Red Line stop there. Construction is well underway, and now our tipster tells us that the opening is set for sometime during July or August of this year.

The store is working on hiring right now; while some of the management will be brought in from other stores in the area, we're told that they plan to hire about 160 employees to start, including Geniuses, Specialists, and everything else. Of course, these dates aren't set in stone -- the store will likely open when it's good and ready. But we're told that the staff should be trained and ready and in the store about a week before it opens, so once that is worked out, they'll be good to go.

And sure enough, the jobs page over at Apple says that they are hiring at the "Lincoln Park" store now. Having lived in the area for a while, I'd actually call that intersection part of the Clybourn Corridor. Apple wants the name recognition of the primo neighborhood, though, so the Lincoln Park Apple Store it is.

Patently Apple points out another Apple filing today, this time in reference to the retail stores. Specifically, Apple is looking to trademark the "distinctive design and layout" that they've cultivated since opening their first retail location in 2001. The filing provides two sketches -- one in full color and the other in black-and-white -- and a photo depicting the typical exterior and interior of Apple Stores.

On one hand, you've got to wonder exactly how "distinctive" a retail store's interior can be. You've got counters, products, stools and a checkout/desk area. On the other hand, consider the fervor that accompanied the opening of the first Microsoft stores, which bear a striking resemblance to Apple's outlets. Not that they're targeting Microsoft specifically, but any company that would blatantly mimic their successful model.

I wonder if the trademark addresses the dancing.

[Via MacDailyNews]