French Apple news site MacGeneration today reports that Apple is soon planning to open a new flagship retail store in Paris, France, citing French newspaper Le Figaro. The report claims that Apple has secured a lease for a 20,341-square-feet seven story building at 114 Avenue des Champs-Élysées. The company plans to operate a retail store on the lower levels of the building, while the upper levels will be reserved for office space.
Apple Watch <a href="http://arstechnica.com">hands-on table</a> from September Media Event
According to multiple reports out of France, Apple is constructing a dedicated display for the upcoming Apple Watch in some upscale Paris-based retail outlets. The reportssay that the size of the display is close to the length of a few small balconies and that Apple Retail Senior Vice President Angela Ahrendts has been directing the construction of the booth at retailer Galeries Lafayette on Champs Elysees. While these claims for France are still unconfirmed, sources have told us that Apple is considering constructing dedicated Apple Watch retail stores in the future if demand deems such outlets necessary…
DailyMail reported today that Apple’s flagship retail store in France was the victim of an organized robbery. The crime apparently took place last night around 9 p.m. local time, three hours after the store closed for the day, with the suspects taking off with a reported £1 million in products. The masked, handgun-toting thieves were able to make off with the products before police arrived and have yet to be located. One security guard was “lightly injured” in the process:
Christophe Crepin, an Unsa police union official, told Le Parisien newspaper that ‘the four hooded and heavily armed criminals made their move very quickly. Most of the police forces were being mobilised to monitor the Champs Elysees, so the robbers have clearly benefitted from this opportunity to strike.’
Mr Crepin said the robbers mainly took ‘a lot of goods’ and very little money. Early estimates were that the haul was worth well over 1 million euros, or close to 1 million pounds.
