The New York Post reports that the flagship Fifth Avenue Apple Store in Manhattan was flooded following heavy rain in the city this morning due to a leak in the retail store’s roof. The flood apparently began shortly after opening at approximately 8 a.m while around 15 customers were shopping in the store. According to reports from NY Post, employees blamed construction completed on the location last year for the leak: Read more
iPad mini window display from NorthStar Mall, San Antonio (via @alanweinkrantz)
iPad mini officially went on sale at 8 a.m. this morning and reports are already starting to flow in that many Apple Stores have sold out of initial stock. Topeka Capital’s Brian White released a note to clients this morning (via BusinessInsider) that noted all models of iPad mini sold out in just over two hours at Apple’s flagship Fifth Avenue New York City store. Before today’s launch, shipment dates for Apple’s online pre-orders of the device had been pushed back, while shipment dates for pre-ordered LTE models of the device were recently removed.
Now reports indicate stores in the United Kingdom, Singapore, Canada, and many other states from Alabama to Hawaii have sold out of initial supplies.
@markgurman better do it now. We are all out of whites. We only got like a 100 minis and 900 retinas.
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madfruitstandemploye (@madfruitstand) November 02, 2012It’s unclear just how much stock Apple had delivered to its various stores and resellers, but we noted earlier today that lines were much smaller than usual at many locations. The lines were most likely due to the fact today’s launch included just the Wi-Fi-only model, but it looks like Apple is still not able to meet demand in many locations. Some stores were rumored to get about 100 units, as noted in the tweet above, while we heard bigger stores received as many as 300.
It’s also not yet clear if supply of the new iPad mini will be held back by similar manufacturing troubles and supply constraints of which Apple is now experiencing with iPhone 5 and the new iMacs leading into the holidays.
Judging by the collection of tweets that we put together below, Apple is quickly selling out of initial iPad mini stock in many locations around the globe. Most stores are not expecting additional shipments today:
Apple has opened retail stores prime locations like Grand Central Station and Fifth Avenue in New York, Covent Garden in London, the Louvre in Paris, and its Beijing store with a 40-foot curved glass exterior. While those stores may be large, beautifully architected, and significant, Apple is preparing a new store that will be even more extraordinary for the decade-old retail chain…
Update: Here it is! (Thanks Dapper!)
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Thanks Marty!
Apple has just started closing down its 5th Avenue Store which is usually open 24/7/365 where patrons are filing out of the GM building entrance. It is preparing for a grand re-opening at 10am tomorrow where a newly-designed $6 million cube will be unveiled. The number of panes in the cube will drop from 90 to just 15 (3 per side).
We’re simplifying the Fifth Avenue cube. By using larger, seamless pieces of glass, we’re using just 15 panes instead of 90.
Apple will spend the next 12 hours getting the store ready according to the 5th Avenue Store web page.
Attention:We’ll be closed starting at 10:00 p.m. on Thursday, November 3 and will reopen at 10:00 a.m. on Friday, November 4.
Apple began pulling the wraps off of the 5th Avenue Store Cube upgrade project this evening. The above pictures shows the new seamless glass panels that will eventually look like this artist’s rendition, below: Read more
customers and employees waiting for the Fifth Avenue Store to re-open
You might have heard there was a little trembler on the east coast earlier today. Perhaps due to the renovation of the glass cube overhead, we’re hearing that the whole 5th Avenue Store was evacuated and both customers and employees were relocated to Central Park while the structure was checked for damages (above).
Better safe than sorry. Read more
Macrumors notes that the boarded up Fifth Avenue Apple Store now reveals plans to improve the appearance of the cube by using “bigger, seamless” panes of glass. The number of panes will drop from 90 to just 15 (3 per side).
We’re simplifying the Fifth Avenue cube. By using larger, seamless pieces of glass, we’re using just 15 panes instead of 90.
The upgrade reportedly costs $6 million. We’d be very surprised if the renovation isn’t complete for the October iPhone 5 launch.
Apple is also expected to have its Grand Central location, just 15 or so blocks south, open for the holidays and is also doing an upgrade to its Soho Store.
Update: The Gothamist posts a rendering:
