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Apple officially confirms first Apple Store in Belgium opens in Brussels on 19th September

Apple has now officially confirmed the opening date of its first Belgian retail store, opening in Brussels on 19th September. The date is shown on the hoarding outside the new store, located on Avenue de la Toison d’Or (also known as Gulden Vlieslaan), and was confirmed by Apple to ANV.

The wording on the hoarding reads ‘Creativity, to be continued,’ and features paintings by local artists (below). The store is a large one, at 1500 square metres, reports iCulture. The store is not yet shown on Apple’s website.

We first saw job listings for Apple Store-specific roles in Brussels as long ago as December 2014, with more seen in May of this year … 

Further job listings suggest that Apple plans a second Belgian store, in Antwerp, with the former Trade Fair building suggested as a possible location.

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Comments

  1. applegetridofsimandjack - 9 years ago

    Finally the European capital gets an official Apple Store! Way too late but it’s finally here.

  2. sidrictheviking - 9 years ago

    Félicitations.

  3. Paul Van Obberghen - 9 years ago

    It’s “Gulden Vlieslaan”, not “Gulden Vliesdaan”. This is in Flemish (Dutch) which is spoken by about 10% of Brussels’ population. In French, it is “Avenue de la Toison d’Or” (Golden Fleece Avenue) and about everybody here says it that way.

    • Ben Lovejoy - 9 years ago

      Thanks, Paul.

    • applegetridofsimandjack - 9 years ago

      Flemish is spoken by about 25% of people from Brussels. I myself live in Brussels and when I saw your claim of just 10% of people in Brussels speaking Flemish I knew that number was just too low in comparison with reality.

      I know it doesn’t matter but it’s just so people don’t think almost nobody speaks Flemish in Brussels.

      • Paul Van Obberghen - 9 years ago

        Depending on sources, 10% is quite optimistic. It’s even more likely to be even less. And I’m speaking about people who are living in Brussels and whose mother language is Flemish and speaking this language in their everyday lives. There’s alot of Flemish people who are working in Brussels, granted, but these are not living in Brussels. Yet 25%, no one is coming with that number, not even Flanders’ officials. This being said it does not mean that the other 90% are French speaking as Brussels, being capital of Europe and home to many international institutions including NATO, is quite a cosmopolitan city. Most likely after French, but still way before Flemish, is Arabic (soon to overtake French btw), Spanish, English, etc,… Also, most foreigners living in Brussels, apart those whose language is germanic in origin, will use the French denomination of streets, districts, burroughs, monuments etc,… To cut a long story short Brussels has officialy 2 languages: French and Flemish, which are used indifferantly for every official communication with or from the authorities. Hence the address for the next Apple Store is “Avenue de la Toison d’Or – Gulden Vlieslaan” and signages for that avenue should alternate both versions. My point was, that only quoting the Flemish denomination was a mistake, duely corrected now, and the Flemish version is much less likely to be used. And if it is 1 on 4, then so be it, It still much less. 10% is not “almost nobody”. It’s 10% and that’s not close to zero.

  4. PhilBoogie - 9 years ago

    Wow! I see 5 posts, giving each a star.

    Indeed, finally. Very happy with this news, even though Amsterdam is closer for me. (actually, Haarlem is but I like Amsterdam more since it has the longest Genius Bar in the World)

  5. Abdullah Al Kadi - 9 years ago

    Does that mean that the iPhone 6s is going to be released on the 19th as well? Because Apple usually starts shipping iPhones on a Friday, and they’ve always been 10 days after the announcement. But this time, the announcement is on the 9th and 10 days later it’s gonna be the 19th which is a Saturday. So I’ve been thinking for a while now, will break their ‘tradition’ and release it 9 days instead of 10 days later? Or will they just release it on a Saturday? Which is also different from what we have been used to.. But after this announcement, I think they would release it on the 19th which is a Saturday so it can double as an iPhone ‘celebration’ and store opening. Anyways, what do you guys think?

    • PhilBoogie - 9 years ago

      Belgium was never included in the first wave so I’d be surprised if they are this year.

  6. Terry Dunham - 9 years ago

    What is this “hoarding” of which you speak? Not a word I’m familiar with.

    • PhilBoogie - 9 years ago

      hoarding |ˈhɔːdɪŋ| nounBrit.

      It’s a mistake made in the typing process (such as a spelling mistake)[2] of printed material. Historically, this referred to mistakes in manual type-setting (typography). The term includes errors due to mechanical failure or slips of the hand or finger,[2] but excludes errors of ignorance, such as spelling errors. Before the arrival of printing, the “copyist’s mistake” or “scribal error” was the equivalent for manuscripts. Most typos involve simple duplication, omission, transposition, or substitution of a small number of characters.

      Fat finger, or “fat-finger syndrome”, a slang term, refers to an unwanted secondary action when typing. When one’s finger is bigger than the touch zone, there can be inaccuracy in the fine motor movements and accidents occur. This is common with touchscreens. One may hit two adjacent keys on the keyboard in a single keystroke. An example is buckled instead of bucked, due to the L key being next to the K key on many keyboards.[3]

    • Ben Lovejoy - 9 years ago

      http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/hoarding: a temporary fence enclosing a construction site.

      • rtdunham - 9 years ago

        Thanks Ben and Philboogie. Always new things to learn. My online search came up only with the more common usage. Maybe if I had hoarded more dictionaries here in the house…

  7. andreasgrill - 9 years ago

    Still no store in Austria :/

  8. Appsolute - 9 years ago

    … and maybe, at last, the AW in Belgium!?

Author

Avatar for Ben Lovejoy Ben Lovejoy

Ben Lovejoy is a British technology writer and EU Editor for 9to5Mac. He’s known for his op-eds and diary pieces, exploring his experience of Apple products over time, for a more rounded review. He also writes fiction, with two technothriller novels, a couple of SF shorts and a rom-com!


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