For example, depending on the store and market size, a few dozen to several dozen units of each model in every color and internet-connectivity option will be allocated for purchases before 12 noon.
Once the store-specific sales number for morning purchases is hit, some stores will not offer those models until later in the day or via Personal Pickup…
Just hours after going live for sale in several countries in the Asia-Pacific, all models of the iPad Air have become “currently unavailable” at the Hong Kong store. The store opened up with a quote for 1-2 week shipping times, which was substantially longer than the 24 hour shipping times seen in countries such as Australia. Overall, at least in the United States and Europe, iPad Air supplies are expected to be plentiful.
Reader Dan just sent us some pictures of the iconic Shanghai Apple Store that is currently being cleaned up due to a pretty significant flood.
Big flood in their flagship Shanghai, China store located in the Pudong district of Shanghai.…unfortunately, they were not allowing the public to take pictures so i wasn’t able “sneak in” too many pictures but i’ve attached a short video and couple pics.
When i arrived they had already blocked off the area where it was flooding and tried to control it by putting bins underneath to catch the water. They covered surrounding iPads/Macs with plastic cover. Unclear as to how much damage occurred.
It is not the kind of damage that comes from a drive through smash-and-grab, but it will take some time to clean up this mess. Thanks Dan!
Apple recently unveiled Germany’s ninth Apple Store on its website (translated). The latest shop will open Sept. 1 at 10 a.m. in Cologne’s Rhein-Center shopping mall. It is located on the top floor next to Zara and across from Lush. According to German news blog iFun (translated), those who wait in line to gain entrance will receive a limited number of T-shirts.
In related news, Apple’s signage now covers a second spot in Hong Kong. The gray, simple look indicates a new retail store is coming to the Festival Walk mall in the Kowloon Tong area, according to Engadget China (translated), which also posted a few pictures, as seen below. The report said the store could open in September, but the date is not confirmed.
While not official from Apple, the store that was previously rumored to be an Apple Store in Stockholm’s Taby C mall appears pretty likely to be an Apple Store. The run-up to this day has been long for Swedish Apple users. The local MacWorld.se says doors should open around Oct. 25, which is just in time for iPad Minis and the holidays. Watch out IKEA!
Since the launch of Apple’s new Retina MacBook Pro, shipping times worldwide for the company’s online store—for the most part—have sat at “3-4 weeks.” Today, shipping times have begun to drop with the U.S., Canadian, and some Asia-Pacific markets now listing the device with an estimated shipping time of “2-3 weeks.” The updated shipping times appear to be landing in many European stores as well.
UPDATE: On Tuesday, the Council on American-Islamic Relations and National Iranian American Council called upon Apple to change its policy and take appropriate steps to guarantee further enforcement of the policy will not impede on Iranian’s rights in the United States.
9to5Mac contacted Apple and the councils and will update again if they issue a comment.
An Apple Store in Georgia apparently refused to sell iOS devices to an Alpharetta woman and her uncle, because they spoke Farsi to each other.
Sahar Sabet, 19, is a United States citizen and student at the University of Georgia. She and her uncle were recently shopping for an iPad and iPhone at an Apple Store in the North Pointe Mall. They were conversing in Farsi, a Persian-Iranian language, when an employee overheard them and asked what language they were speaking.
According to WSBTV, the woman answered, but then the Apple employee said, “I just can’t sell this to you. Our countries have bad relations.”
Another customer, Zack Jafarzadeh, apparently received the same treatment at a different Apple Store in the Perimeter Mall in Atlanta. He recently accompanied a friend who tried to buy an iPhone.
“We never talked about him going back to Iran or anything like that. He was just speaking full-fledged Farsi and the representative came back and denied our sale,” said Jafarzadeh to WSBTV. “I would say if you’re trying to buy an iPhone, don’t tell them anything about Iran. That would be your best bet.”
Sabet returned to the North Point Apple Store on Monday with WSBTV’s Amy Napier Viteri, and they caught the same employee describing an Apple policy on camera that allegedly prohibits the sale of products to Iranians. A manager even presented the duo with the policy, which said the exportation, sale, or supply of Apple products from U.S. to Iran is not allowed without prior authorization by the federal government. The manager explained Apple Stores have to “rely on customers to be honest.”
The new 15.4-inch MacBook Pro with Retina display is either out of stock, coming soon, on pre-order, or experiencing delayed shipping on almost every retail website, but it appears one seller is offering the latest Cupertino notebook on eBay—for roughly $1,700 more than Apple’s asking price.
The above eBay deal comes with same day, free shipping and includes insurance (if this is even considered a deal). Another eBay listing offers the base model MacBook Pro for $3,199 USD, but another $95.80 USD is required for USPS priority shipping from Canada.
It is probably safe to say these puppies are in high demand, as evident by the exorbitant price markups. Expand Expanding Close
Apple and Walmart subsidiary Sam’s Club are in early discussions to widen their already existing partnership. Sam’s Club currently sells Apple’s iPhone, iPad, and iPod lines within its large retail chain, but the two corporate giants are looking to take their business relationship to the next level. According to sources, Apple is considering an expansion of its Apple Store-in-store program to the 47 United States retail warehouse chain.
Sources said Apple is looking to expand its program beyond Best Buy and Target in the United States, and Sam’s Club is one of the retail chains that Apple is in early discussions with. An Apple-store-in-store typically consists of a mini-Apple Store type setup within a larger store. For example, the store-in-stores in Best Buy consist of Apple-like displays and a large table with all of Apple’s products as typically seen in standalone Apple Stores.
Sam’s Club and Apple are not only in early discussions for the Apple store-in-store program, but a backup plan is also being discussed. This plan consists of Sam’s Club simply selling Apple’s Macs, but without the Apple Store features. Since the discussions are still early, sources could not comment on a timeframe for such partnerships, but we know the store-in-stores will likely not be coming soon—or at all if the discussions fall flat. While Sam’s Club is said to be considered, it is unknown if its parent company Walmart is, too.
MacMall offers 9to5 readers an additional 3 percent off their lowest price new Mac Desktop products at checkout which yield lowest prices currently available in the U.S. with free shipping. Mac Minis start at $567.99 and iMacs start at $1105.79.
Your only better option would be to buy a refurb iMac at the online Apple Store for $999.
Speaking of Refurbs at the Apple Store, iPad 2s are in stock again at $419, which is a solid savings of $80 (you might want to wait a few months for an update, however!).
[vodpod id=Video.15812105&w=650&h=420&fv=videoGUID%3D%7B645A7F70-4DE7-48FF-8058-03B54A358C3C%7D%26amp%3Bplayerid%3D2001%26amp%3BplyMediaEnabled%3D1%26amp%3BconfigURL%3Dhttp%3A%2F%2Fm.wsj.net%2Fvideo-players%2F%26amp%3BautoStart%3Dfalse]
As a Grand Central commuter, Late night talk show host Jimmy Fallon articulates my feelings on two great things coming together.
But here’s an awesome bonus that offsets the added foot-traffic that stands between me and my train: Free speedy Wifi which stretches throughout the main concourse. It is fast and it goes way beyond the store (even in some trains!). I wonder what was required by its contract with the MTA and which is Apple just being cool. Expand Expanding Close
There isn’t much here that you didn’t see yesterday but it is satisfying to see the MTA’s pride in the accomplishment, which may also be in response to concerns that Apple got a ‘sweetheart deal‘.
We’ve had a ton of coverage on what has become today Apple’s new flagship retail outlet. At 10am this morning, the 23,000 square foot Grand Central Terminal store finally opened doors for business and big crowds filled the concourse of the Terminal ahead of grand opening. Apple is handing out 4,000 black T-shirts with “Apple Store, Grand Central” graphic resembling a train arrival board, similar to that used as a blockade prior to the opening.
Our Seth Weintraub went to film the store and you can see him in the clip above getting out of the VIP elevator at the top, wearing a press pass (more clips after the break). Also, make sure to check out the below gallery, providing a glimpse of just how massive and breathtaking this new store is. Mind you, just the perfect scene for one of Samsung’s adverts bashing line waiters.
[slideshow]
See the first image in the slideshow? Yeah, that’s actor Michael J. Fox. Cool or what? We also have a Whoopi Goldberg showing and another featuring Gary Allen (a guy with the beard) who runs ifoapplestore.com, a site dedicated to Apple’s retail strides. As you recall, a couples days ago 9to5Mac got some shots from inside the store and Apple confirmed the store would indeed be open from 7am to 9pm Monday to Friday, 10am to 7pm Saturdays, and 11am to 6pm on Sundays. The store has 315 employees, two genius bars, the new 15-minute Express Workshop and also offers Personal Pickup, among other features.
An incredible new Apple store inside New York City’s landmark Grand Central Terminal – one of Apple’s largest stores in the world – is set to open this morning at 10am and already hundreds have queued up. The Fortune’s Philip Elmer-DeWitt snapped up the above shot showing staffers on the balconies above Grand Central Terminal and hundreds of fans stretching all the way down one track and part-way back.
The company will treat avid fans to cool perks, such as 4,000 black shirts with “Apple Store, Grand Central” spelled out in lettering, resembling a train arrival board. The Mac maker also posted the below press shot on its PR site. A dedicated page for the 23,000-square-foot store on Apple’s web site reveals the store work hours Monday through Friday from 7am to 9pm, 10am to 7pm on Saturdays and on Sundays from 11am to 6pm. Here’s a glimpse of the excitement.
The store’s extended holiday hours plus another video are right after the break. Our own Seth Weintraub is on hand so stay tuned for more updates, coming soon.
Grand opening of Apple’s massive new store inside New York City’s Grand Central Station is scheduled for Friday, December 9 at 10am, but today at 10am is a “media day”. Ahead of the event, first images of the store’s interior are cropping up all over the web. UPDATE: Apple just released a press statement formally announcing the new store. The new outlet is open from 7am to 9pm, Monday through Friday, Saturday 10am to 7pm and Sunday 11am to 6pm as we reported last week.
[slideshow]
The release also mentions 315 employees that work at the store, providing services such as Personal Pickup, two Genius Bars, the new 15-minute Express Workshops that offer “tips and tricks in a streamlined format to serve customers on a tight schedule” and of course the EasyPay system via the updated Apple Store app which lets folks “scan and pay for accessories with their iPhone”. More images, full release and another video byFortune’s Philip Elmer-DeWitt right after the break.
We obviously had to white out numbers above – From Apple’s Retail inventory system.
A source inside Apple Retail has shared with us the numbers for Apple’s Black Friday sales event. Black Friday is always huge shopping day and Apple forecasted at least 4X sales for the day. However, because Apple did have the lowest prices on big ticket items like the iPad, it blew away forecasts by 7PM and unsurprisingly had its biggest sales day of all time..
Apple Retail was forecast and broke Retail sales records all over the country today, this is from [redacted] today, the forecast today is more than 4 times what we normally do. We broke the forecast by 7pm.
MacBook Air sales were also particularly strong according to our source.
Apple Store discounts are extremely rare and with more Stores open than ever before, the temptation was too much for many. Expand Expanding Close
Early visitors to the Apple Store noted that there was a lot of traffic but things were orderly and with the help of “EasySteal”, they were in and out in a matter of minutes and saved lots of money. Hit up our Black Friday 2011 Price Guide to get the best deals on Apple hardware and accessories.
It’s Black Friday and we’ve got the best deals from around the web on Apple products and accessories. Although most of the Apple Store prices (which we stumbled upon a few days ago) are moderate discounts, some are actually the lowest we could find, especially in iPads and accessories. We’re updating all day long so come back early and often…and don’t forget to check 9to5toys.com.
The wraps are coming off of the Grand Central Apple store frontage to reveal a ticker sign according to our morning commuter tipster. The screens move like flipping letters of the old Grand Central timetables. The design is reminiscent of Apple’s Green Monster Facade at the Boston Store.
It appears that Apple isn’t satisfied with the progress on the Grand Central Apple Store and is postponing the opening at least a week perhaps more. Clearly, Apple would have preferred to have another huge venue open for Black Friday but we’ve been told by a GC Apple employee today that they’ve been told to continue working at other New York Area Apple Stores during Black Friday weekend.
Last weekend, a group of employees was told that the opening announcement was scheduled for today and Apple was going to try to open for Black Friday.
On the other hand, it is good to have an abundance of Apple Store workers on hand at the other NYC Apple Stores for the busiest shopping weekend of the year.
We’re sorry we got your hopes up and we’re still hoping to see the store open next week.
Ron Johnson, the CEO of J.C. Penney and the former senior vice president for retail at Apple, ran a guest post detailing his Apple tenure over at the Harward Business Review blog, accompanying a monster interview which appears in the December 2011 issue of the Harvard Business Review magazine.
Apple doesn’t owe its success in retail to shiny products, he said. “You don’t need to stock iPads to create an irresistible retail environment”, he said. “You have to create a store that’s more than a store to people”. Even though Apple products can be purchased for less elsewhere, people visit Apple’s stores for the experience, not products, he argued:
People come to the Apple Store for the experience — and they’re willing to pay a premium for that. There are lots of components to that experience, but maybe the most important — and this is something that can translate to any retailer — is that the staff isn’t focused on selling stuff, it’s focused on building relationships and trying to make people’s lives better. That may sound hokey, but it’s true. Expand Expanding Close
As Apple’s former retail chief Ron Johnson sets its sights on re-inventing the shopping experience at the J.C. Penney department stores and the search for his replacement continues, the Cupertino, California-headquartered gadget designer isn’t resting on its laurels. Future plans call for continuation of an aggressive retail expansion that includes 40 new stores during fiscal 2012, thirty of them outside the United States. Expand Expanding Close
We reported on the construction progress of the future Apple grand Central store earlier this month and have since received further information and pictures from our trip to the location and from the tech blog, Techfootnote. Both sources grabbed shots of the upcoming Grand Central Apple Store as it was actively being worked on Friday, November 18th. There were dozens of construction workers and corporate reps putting the final touches on the future store. In the images you can see what looks to be several large hanging boards. The boards are hung on large hooks, which would make it easy to pull off and reveal what is behind the boards.
9to5Mac has heard that Apple will officially announce the opening of the Grand Central Apple store this Tuesday and presumably pull the black boards to reveal the announcement. This store garners extra special attention because it will be Apple’s largest in the world by square footage and resides in a building where 750,000 people pass daily and over 1,000,000 people during the holidays. Check out our previously posted spyshots of the location for a sneak peak of the store.
The Grand Central Apple Store will have little over 300 employees, which are currently training in other local NY Apple stores. All Apple retail employees will be attending a holiday-focused (policies / loss prevention) meeting tonight.
From what we have now heard, Apple will be filling the store with stock and applying the finishing touches this week putting the the actual opening of the store on Black Friday or shortly thereafter. The goal all along has been to get the store open for the holiday shopping and to make a big splash with Apple’s new crown jewel of retail.
Wall of Monitors spied between pillars, right, Video of the store space below (more here):
Apple Store inside of a Best Buy
