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Original poster
Apr 12, 2001
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The expansion project at the Florida Mall Apple Retail Store that will see the store more than tripling in size has been in the works for more than a year. A tipster has sent us this image of the black paneling showing where the new store will be inside the mall.

Apple is reportedly planning to have the store open by the end of July or beginning of August.

floridamall.jpg
The leasing plan for the mall [PDF] shows the expansion in progress, with a Microsoft store located right next door to Apple in part of the space vacated by Williams-Sonoma and Pottery Barn. The newly expanded Apple Store will be twice the size of the Microsoft retail store, which opened last August.

IFO Apple Store has additional information about the expansion from a post last year:
The Apple store opened in September 2005 with about 2,700 square-feet, now a considered a small space for the large number of daily visitors. According to insiders, the Williams-Sonoma and Pottery Barn stores will soon vacate, although it's unknown if they're relocating to other spaces in the mall or closing completely. Shortly after, construction will begin to expand the 30-foot wide Apple store into a portion of the adjacent vacant space. Mall lease plans suggest the finished store will have a 90 foot-wide storefront with 8,640 square-feet.
As Apple has covered much of the United States with retail stores, in recent years the company has been focused on expanding existing locations rather than building out new ones.

Article Link: Apple Set to Take On Microsoft with Expanded Florida Mall Retail Store
 

blundh

macrumors newbie
Jun 25, 2013
1
0
Bellevue Square

When Microsoft opened the "flagship" Microsoft Store at Bellevue Square (a mere ZIP Code away from its Redmond HQ and across the street from one of its many office towers), Apple moved its store upstairs to a MUCH bigger space. It's the most gargantuan Apple Store I've ever seen, and well-staffed! I hope the same will happen here!
 

3282868

macrumors 603
Jan 8, 2009
5,281
0
As Apple has covered much of the United States with retail stores, in recent years the company has been focused on expanding existing locations rather than building out new ones.

Makes sense. Do not follow Mickey Drexler's business model when he was GAP CEO. During his time with GAP, its "Old Navy", "GAP" and "Banana Republic" presence more than tripled, with "GAP" stores almost as common as "Starbucks". The growth didn't match the company's retail sales and soon the stock tumbled and stores closed. Expanding current location size is better business than opening more stores. Slow and steady, it wins the race. :)
 
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Seabassthegreat

macrumors member
Oct 12, 2011
44
5
Orlando FL
To think I was the first guy to get sold an iPad 2 here at this very store when the iPad 2 launched.... The only time i remember they didn't do preorders...18 hours I'm never getting back
 

TWSS37

macrumors 65816
Feb 4, 2011
1,107
232
Wow - this is beautiful. I can't believe Apple is moving away from the full glass frontage to an all black, opaque storefront. Bold move, but one I believe that will pay off and usher in a new era of modern architecture.
 

KindredMAC

macrumors 6502a
Sep 23, 2003
975
218
I went back to DestinyUSA/Carousel Center in Syracuse for the first time in almost a year and a half since moving away and checked out the full sized store they added a few months ago. They were one of the first to have the MINI store concept back in the mid-aught's and you could NEVER step foot in there because it was always packed.

Now the new Syracuse location is beautiful and spacious with a huge selection of third party Mac stuff on the left side of the store.

I'm hoping our Albany location can start offering as much as the Syracuse store.
 

esechico

macrumors newbie
Apr 6, 2013
11
0
Wow - this is beautiful. I can't believe Apple is moving away from the full glass frontage to an all black, opaque storefront. Bold move, but one I believe that will pay off and usher in a new era of modern architecture.

You do realize that your looking at the construction cover and that once it's complete it will come down and match the rest of the existing storefront? It's there so u can't see inside....

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Someone please tell me that's not M&Ms world they've taken over?

No it's not!
Read the article: "The leasing plan for the mall [PDF] shows the expansion in progress, with a Microsoft store located right next door to Apple in part of the space vacated by Williams-Sonoma and Pottery Barn."
 

3282868

macrumors 603
Jan 8, 2009
5,281
0
I went back to DestinyUSA/Carousel Center in Syracuse for the first time in almost a year and a half since moving away and checked out the full sized store they added a few months ago. They were one of the first to have the MINI store concept back in the mid-aught's and you could NEVER step foot in there because it was always packed.

Now the new Syracuse location is beautiful and spacious with a huge selection of third party Mac stuff on the left side of the store.

I'm hoping our Albany location can start offering as much as the Syracuse store.

Greetings from Rochester. Small upstate world ;).

Living between Rochester and NYC, the Eastview Mall store in Rochester is in desperate need of help. It's one of the oldest and undoubtedly smallest retail locations left, is always crowded no matter day/time, and looks awful.
 

SuperCachetes

macrumors 65816
Nov 28, 2010
1,225
1,043
Away from you
You do realize that your looking at the construction cover and that once it's complete it will come down and match the rest of the existing storefront? It's there so u can't see inside....

Whoooosh. That was the 2:12 Sarcasm Express zooming right past your stop. Catch the next one? ;)
 

TWSS37

macrumors 65816
Feb 4, 2011
1,107
232
You do realize that your looking at the construction cover and that once it's complete it will come down and match the rest of the existing storefront? It's there so u can't see inside....


Apple has revolutionized in-store security as well with the matching black doors you have to manually open using a doorknob!

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Whoooosh. That was the 2:12 Sarcasm Express zooming right past your stop. Catch the next one? ;)

I'm usually good at tagging my sarcasm but I didn't really think it was needed on that one :)
 

ChrisA

macrumors G5
Jan 5, 2006
12,541
1,653
Redondo Beach, California
Wow - this is beautiful. I can't believe Apple is moving away from the full glass frontage to an all black, opaque storefront. Bold move, but one I believe that will pay off and usher in a new era of modern architecture.

Yes, who'd have figured a store with no windows and no doors, just a solid blank wall could work. The old theory used to be that your customers needed some way to get inside the store or at least see from the outside that there was an "inside". Think of the money Apple will save with this new plan! These huge black cube-stores will not even need a staff, no inventory and not even interior lighting. Very cheap to build too with just plywood and paint. Will the new stores be open 24x7 or closed 24x7? I guess the distinction no longer matters. (depends on if you think a non existent door is open or locked)

Pretty soon everyone will copy Apple and ALL stores will have blank plywood storefronts.

Or I could be wrong and what we see is just a temporary wall that will come down. Darn, and I was so excited about this new "innovation".
 

mrxak

macrumors 68000
Greetings from Rochester. Small upstate world ;).

Living between Rochester and NYC, the Eastview Mall store in Rochester is in desperate need of help. It's one of the oldest and undoubtedly smallest retail locations left, is always crowded no matter day/time, and looks awful.

Could not agree more. If there's no space at Eastview, they should move it to Marketplace, or just open a new location there.
 

esechico

macrumors newbie
Apr 6, 2013
11
0
Apple has revolutionized in-store security as well with the matching black doors you have to manually open using a doorknob!

----------



I'm usually good at tagging my sarcasm but I didn't really think it was needed on that one :)

Lmao! I hoped it was sarcasm but you just don't know with some people... Sorry brain fried from watching hours of the Zimmerman trial! :)
 

keysofanxiety

macrumors G3
Nov 23, 2011
9,539
25,302
Wow - this is beautiful. I can't believe Apple is moving away from the full glass frontage to an all black, opaque storefront. Bold move, but one I believe that will pay off and usher in a new era of modern architecture.

10/10, gave me a heck of a chuckle :D
 

Anonymous Freak

macrumors 603
Dec 12, 2002
5,559
1,245
Cascadia
Apple is widely believed to be the tenant doing a massive remodel at Portland's Pioneer Place mall: Design Commission approves likely Apple store at Pioneer Place.

After that was revealed, Microsoft announced that they had acquired the (much smaller) store across the street: Will Microsoft open new Pioneer Place store before Apple?

The Microsoft Store opened last week. The Apple Store still hasn't finished deconstruction of the existing structure. (The current Apple Store is in the basement of the mall, and is one of their small-Mall-style stores.)
 

TWSS37

macrumors 65816
Feb 4, 2011
1,107
232
Yes, who'd have figured a store with no windows and no doors, just a solid blank wall could work. The old theory used to be that your customers needed some way to get inside the store or at least see from the outside that there was an "inside". Think of the money Apple will save with this new plan! These huge black cube-stores will not even need a staff, no inventory and not even interior lighting. Very cheap to build too with just plywood and paint. Will the new stores be open 24x7 or closed 24x7? I guess the distinction no longer matters. (depends on if you think a non existent door is open or locked)

Pretty soon everyone will copy Apple and ALL stores will have blank plywood storefronts.

Or I could be wrong and what we see is just a temporary wall that will come down. Darn, and I was so excited about this new "innovation".

No, you had it right the first time. It's only a matter of time until Samsung kiosks adopt the all block frontage!
 

JTR555

macrumors regular
Jun 25, 2013
112
30
Virginia
There is a Microsoft store in Tyson's Corner (Virginia) and it is always nearly empty whereas the Apple Store there (one of the two original stores in the retail chain) is always jammed. Makes the Microsoft store look like a bad joke (which it is.) I still fail to see the logic behind a Microsoft store (except for suckers who want a Zune, I mean, Surface tablet.
 

unintelligible

macrumors newbie
Jul 12, 2007
24
6
Good on them for renovating it (it really is a very small store) but will they EVER build a store near Melbourne? It sucks to have to drive an hour to get there when Orlando has two stores within ten minutes of each other.

Every time I see that ifoAppleStore ranking listing with Melbourne sitting right at the top (numerically ranked way ahead of every other city on the list) I just have to sigh. I guess there are too many rednecks and retirees around to justify building a store here.
 

rdlink

macrumors 68040
Nov 10, 2007
3,226
2,435
Out of the Reach of the FBI
Headline is hilarious. "Apple Set to Take on Microsoft…"

More appropriately stated: "Apple Store Will Yet Again Embarrass Microsoft"

This will be so funny if they're side by side. The contrast between a packed store and crickets will be so stark. Kind of like the Apple Store next to the Sony Store at Pentagon City.
 

KindredMAC

macrumors 6502a
Sep 23, 2003
975
218
Greetings from Rochester. Small upstate world ;).

Living between Rochester and NYC, the Eastview Mall store in Rochester is in desperate need of help. It's one of the oldest and undoubtedly smallest retail locations left, is always crowded no matter day/time, and looks awful.
Greetings "Upstater"!!!!
(I hate referring to us like that.. Lol)
I've been to that one too while visiting friends in Irondequoit. I didn't think it was that bad when I was there but that was 3-4 years ago.
Our store in Albany is always packed too.

The store in Buffalo(Cheektowaga) is one of the first in NYS and STILL looks good after over a decade of being open.
 

eawmp1

macrumors 601
Feb 19, 2008
4,158
91
FL
Wow - this is beautiful. I can't believe Apple is moving away from the full glass frontage to an all black, opaque storefront. Bold move, but one I believe that will pay off and usher in a new era of modern architecture.

It scratches. Trust me, I live in Orlando and rubbed my keys against it. I hear it's a problem in other Apple product lines.
 

macs4nw

macrumors 601

Headline is hilarious. "Apple Set to Take on Microsoft…" More appropriately stated: "Apple Store Will Yet Again Embarrass Microsoft" This will be so funny if they're side by side. The contrast between a packed store and crickets will be so stark. Kind of like the Apple Store next to the Sony Store at Pentagon City.

Why does it always have to come down to "us against them". We all love (mostly) our APPLE products, and we all know those APPLE stores are quite nicely finished and a model of efficiency ($$ per ft2), but why do we have to gloat about it, and belittle the other guys. Let them peacefully co-exist side by side, and people will decide what they wanne buy, and where they wanne shop. No need to piss-off the PC crowd, with our gloating.
After all, globally, they still command, give or take, 90% of the market.

Judging by the posts on MR, many of us have already decided where we do most of our shopping, myself included.
I don't believe we need to rub it in. Just my .02
 
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