Apple finalizes plans for third Manhattan retail store

[AppleInsider]

Apple Computer will open its third Manhattan retail store at SL Green Realty Corp.'s retail joint venture at West 34th Street, according to Reuters.

"The team had to negotiate more than six separate transactions and explore the outer reaches of the New York City building code with help of several consultants," Andrew Mathias, SL Green's chief investment officer, is reported as saying during a third-quarter conference call with analysts on Tuesday.

According to the report, the deal for the Apple Store west of Fifth Avenue began with discussions of a 50-by-100 square-foot floor plan but the store will end up being 50 to 75 feet by 100 feet.

The Mac maker's quest for its third Manhattan hot spot has been met with its share of road bumps. Almost a year ago to the day, it abandoned plans for a glass enclosed two-story retail store in Manhattan's Flatiron District after being unable to come to terms with a local landmarks preservation commission.

Apple returned to the drawing board and in Dec. of 2005 was reported to have net-leased an entire 30,000-foot five-story building opposite the Empire State Building at 21 W. 34th St from Jeff Sutton of Wharton Realty and his partner, SL Green Realty Trust. A back-and-forth process then ensued, with Apple reportedly testing the limits of Manhattan's building code before recently finalizing plans to proceed with renovations.

It's unclear from the latest report when Apple plans to open the new store. However, a timeframe around the second half of 2007 would seem most likely given the company's previous retail initiatives in Manhattan.

Apple currently operates two other retail outfits on the island, each of which are approximately 20,000 square feet in size: an underground Fifth Avenue location that opened in 2006 beneath a 32-foot glass cube entranceway and a trendy two-story shop that opened in Soho in 2002.

[ View this article at AppleInsider.com ]

[mike12309]

Maybe this one will float above ground?

[UrbanVoyeur]

Originally Posted by mike12309

Maybe this one will float above ground?

why not put a mini-store one in every starbucks?

or convert a subway train. that way they could be everywhere!

[madeincupertino]

there are already two apple stores in manhattan... let's put a store in park slope brooklyn. i live there so i might be slightly biased.

[ecking]

Is a 3rd one in Manhattan really necessary? I think Jobs is just bored and wants to design a new building.

[freeny]

I swear, these guys are building a circle around me. every time I see a new Mac store popping up I get all excited that it may be closer and less of a walk to my house. Alas, this one is no closer then either of the other two. They need to build one in Union Square!!!

[Timo]

Originally Posted by madeincupertino

there are already two apple stores in manhattan... let's put a store in park slope brooklyn. i live there so i might be slightly biased.

Not an Apple Store per se, but you may be interested in this:

http://www.macsupportstore.com/

[Timo]

Originally Posted by madeincupertino

there are already two apple stores in manhattan... let's put a store in park slope brooklyn. i live there so i might be slightly biased.

The Apple Stores are about marketing and mindshare -- being across the street from the Empire State Building is a smart way to market your products to ever-revolving numbers of tourists.

It's like putting one in Disneyland.

[Ireland]

Across the street from the Empire State Building!! 5 Stories!!

[BenRoethig]

Originally Posted by ecking

Is a 3rd one in Manhattan really necessary? I think Jobs is just bored and wants to design a new building.

Not really. I'd rather they start focusing on places with no or little Apple Store coverage first, but they seem hell bent on seeing how many Apple stores they can put in a given area.

[TenoBell]

Is a 3rd one in Manhattan really necessary?

You guys don't know NYC. We have 8.7 million people living in 321 square miles, plus around 2 - 3 million visitors every day. The two stores we have are packed with people.

Los Angeles has four stores, 2 of those stores are within a mile of each other. Los Angeles population is around 4 million people living in 498 square miles. Their four stores don't see nearly the same amount of foot traffic as our two.

[MacCentric]

Originally Posted by Timo

It's like putting one in Disneyland.

Now that Jobs is the largest shareholder of Disney, I am sure plans are in the works.

Maybe an Apple ride too.

[melgross]

Originally Posted by ecking

Is a 3rd one in Manhattan really necessary? I think Jobs is just bored and wants to design a new building.

The SoHo store is so crowded that it's difficult to walk around. It does so much business that waiting on line can be a chore.

I'll give you an idea.

When that store opened, it had just one area with registers, at the left of the front doors.

Then it had to open up more in the iPod section upstairs.

Then it had to open more upstairs opposite the iPod section.

It's still too busy.

The GM store has more registers already, but during any fairly normal shopping time, they are busy. No, I mean BUSY!

Another store? You bet!

Even though this store will be smaller, it will help.

New York is a Mac city, believe me.

[melgross]

Originally Posted by TenoBell

You guys don't know NYC. We have 8.7 million people living in 321 square miles, plus around 2 - 3 million visitors every day. The two stores we have are packed with people.

Los Angeles has four stores, 2 of those stores are within a mile of each other. Los Angeles population is around 4 million people living in 498 square miles. Their four stores don't see nearly the same amount of foot traffic as our two.

Right.

And, I almost forgot.

There is one in the Roosevelt mall.

Also busy, and too small.

[melgross]

Originally Posted by MacCentric

Now that Jobs is the largest shareholder of Disney, I am sure plans are in the works.

Maybe an Apple ride too.

The store in Disneyworld would be a good idea, though people on vacation won't be interested in big items, iPods and accessories as well as Macbooks might do surprisingly well.

Don't forget that Apple had an area in the Innovations building for years.

[TenoBell]

And, I almost forgot.

There is one in the Roosevelt mall.

Ah yeah I totally forgot about that one.

I never really go to Staten Island.

[ecking]

In response to people's replies...wow.

[farshad]

Yes . Good spot ! Will sell allot of ipods to tourist. I would almost say they should just open a few IPOD only stores in the city . Like one in Times Sq .

[monkeyastronaut]

edit: nevermind.

i need to make a trip to san antonio. i wasn't aware they opened up an apple store there.

[melgross]

Originally Posted by TenoBell

Ah yeah I totally forgot about that one.

I never really go to Staten Island.

Not Staten Island. Queens.

[melgross]

Originally Posted by monkeyastronaut

nevermind.

I'm pretty sure we'll see one ther at some point.

[Johnny Mozzarella]

New York City (2002) 8,008,278
-Bronx 1,332,650 / 44 sq mi = 30k people per sq mi
-Brooklyn 2,465,326 / 82 sq mi = 30k people per sq mi
-Manhattan 1,537,195 / 24 sq mi = 64k people per sq mi
-Queens 2,229,379 / 112 sq mi = 20k people per sq mi
-Staten Island 443,728 / 60 sq mi = 7k people per sq mi

NYC also has 44 million visitors per year who spend on average $500 each.
7 million of those tourists are international.
Each year over 3.5 million people visit the Empire State Building.

[Johnny Mozzarella]

Originally Posted by farshad

Yes . Good spot ! Will sell allot of ipods to tourist. I would almost say they should just open a few IPOD only stores in the city . Like one in Times Sq .

I think the mini stores make even more sense as they branch out into cell phones.
They should have mini stores that focus on MacBooks, iPods, iPhones and ACCESSORIES.
At the last keynote Steve mentioned that there are over 3000 iPod accessories available!

Accessories are also a big thing with cell phones.
I hope we will see so well designed accessories right of the bat with the iPhone's introduction.
- Holster
- Bluetooth headset
- travel charger
- car charger
- etc.

[melgross]

Originally Posted by Johnny Mozzarella

New York City (2002) 8,008,278
-Bronx 1,332,650 / 44 sq mi = 30k people per sq mi
-Brooklyn 2,465,326 / 82 sq mi = 30k people per sq mi
-Manhattan 1,537,195 / 24 sq mi = 64k people per sq mi
-Queens 2,229,379 / 112 sq mi = 20k people per sq mi
-Staten Island 443,728 / 60 sq mi = 7k people per sq mi

NYC also has 44 million visitors per year who spend on average $500 each.
7 million of those tourists are international.
Each year over 3.5 million people visit the Empire State Building.

And about 20 million, when including those who live in the close surrounding area.

[TenoBell]

Not Staten Island. Queens.

Ok yeah the one in Staten Island is at the Staten Island mall, which I have never been to.

I did not know there is an Apple Store in Queens.

And about 20 million, when including those who live in the close surrounding area.

Yes and millions of those people commute into the city for work, shopping, and entertainment.

[cynikal]

in queens? come on.. it's not even in queens, it's out in nassau.. roosevelt field mall? meadowbrook pkwy?? old country rd not ring a bell?? you people without cars who never leave "the city" (cuz subways don't run there), also there are other parts of new york city besides manhattan.. ugg

[melgross]

Originally Posted by cynikal

in queens? come on.. it's not even in queens, it's out in nassau.. roosevelt field mall? meadowbrook pkwy?? old country rd not ring a bell?? you people without cars who never leave "the city" (cuz subways don't run there), also there are other parts of new york city besides manhattan.. ugg

It's easiest to describe it as Queens, because once you leave NYC, people get really confused if you say Nassau. And it's pretty close in anyway.

I live in Forest Hills, and when I say that, they have no idea as to where I am. I have to say Queens.

[cynikal]

Originally Posted by melgross

It's easiest to describe it as Queens, because once you leave NYC, people get really confused if you say Nassau. And it's pretty close in anyway.

I live in Forest Hills, and when I say that, they have no idea as to where I am. I have to say Queens.

so you're favoring easy in place of accurate.. i guess i now know how this was perpetuated in the first place..

and i lived in flushing (and people made fun of that name also) but i can live w/ it.. also if they said they don't know where it is, i'd explain it's a (stupidly named) township in queens, which is one of the five boroughs of new york cities (one without skyscrapers)..

i don't want to seem all anal, it's just when people say "oh roosevelt field is in queens", that just makes it seem like you don't know what you're talking about.. it's just as easy (and far more accurate) to say it's NEAR queens.. it's one thing if it's said as a joke (but it didn't seem like that), however when people pass incorrect info off as fact, i feel i gotta speak up..

anyway sorry to beat a dead horse.. hooray for a 3rd apple store.. how about one in brooklyn heights? i guess park slope would make more sense though since it seems a little more trendy

[Kishan]

Originally Posted by cynikal

so you're favoring easy in place of accurate.. i guess i now know how this was perpetuated in the first place..

and i lived in flushing (and people made fun of that name also) but i can live w/ it.. also if they said they don't know where it is, i'd explain it's a (stupidly named) township in queens, which is one of the five boroughs of new york cities (one without skyscrapers)..

i don't want to seem all anal, it's just when people say "oh roosevelt field is in queens", that just makes it seem like you don't know what you're talking about.. it's just as easy (and far more accurate) to say it's NEAR queens.. it's one thing if it's said as a joke (but it didn't seem like that), however when people pass incorrect info off as fact, i feel i gotta speak up..

anyway sorry to beat a dead horse.. hooray for a 3rd apple store.. how about one in brooklyn heights? i guess park slope would make more sense though since it seems a little more trendy

Brookyln Heights on Montague would be a much better locale than Park Slope. Better subway access by way of Borough Hall and Court St. stations. Better surrounding shopping.

[TenoBell]

Flatbush Avenue from the Manhattan Bridge through downtown Brooklyn to Grand Army Plaza is gearing up for a major building boom. Downtown Brooklyn will be radically different over the next five years.

There is also major construction in Williamburg/Greenpoint area and the Redhook/Gowanis area. So its difficult right now to say where the best place in Brooklyn for an Apple store will be.

As for Queens I would be looking at Long Island City as a place for a future Apple store.

[melgross]

Originally Posted by TenoBell

Flatbush Avenue from the Manhattan Bridge through downtown Brooklyn to Grand Army Plaza is gearing up for a major building boom. Downtown Brooklyn will be radically different over the next five years.

There is also major construction in Williamburg/Greenpoint area and the Redhook/Gowanis area. So its difficult right now to say where the best place in Brooklyn for an Apple store will be.

As for Queens I would be looking at Long Island City as a place for a future Apple store.

Williamsburg has been slowing down as the new "hot" area is Long Island City.

After the big hi end Co-op is finished at the site of the old Pepsi Bottling site we will see even more changes.

A couple of friends of mine, and myself were looking to buy a small building a year ago. We didn't find what we wanted where we wanted one though, so we ended up not buying anything.

But the buildings that were going for around $1.5 million, are now going for two and up. We should have just bought and held it for investment.

[cynikal]

Originally Posted by Kishan

Brookyln Heights on Montague would be a much better locale than Park Slope. Better subway access by way of Borough Hall and Court St. stations. Better surrounding shopping.

good point.. montague would be great for me too.. it's literally like 3 blocks from where i live, and i have like access to 8 subway stops.. i don't know if montague is trendy enough for apple though (but i'm sure it would improve montague a great bit)..

i don't personally spend much time in park slope so i can't really speak to how trendy or non-trendy it is

[melgross]

Originally Posted by cynikal

good point.. montague would be great for me too.. it's literally like 3 blocks from where i live, and i have like access to 8 subway stops.. i don't know if montague is trendy enough for apple though (but i'm sure it would improve montague a great bit)..

i don't personally spend much time in park slope so i can't really speak to how trendy or non-trendy it is

Apple looks at several things. One, as you mentioned is ease of access. The other is what class of shopping is being done there. The third is what kind of neighborhood it is.

If it's in a mall the last doesn't alway apply, but if it's in a more residential area, it would have to be mid to upper class housing.

GTW failed in part because they didn't adhere to any of those prescriptions.

[mrparet]

Was the Fifth Avenue store not enough?

Edit: Alright, I retract my statement. I didn't realize that the two existing stores were that busy.

[melgross]

Originally Posted by mrparet

Was the Fifth Avenue store not enough?

Edit: Alright, I retract my statement. I didn't realize that the two existing stores were that busy.

It was also the second store in NYC.