Apple takes wraps off of Upper West Side store in New York

Posted:
in General Discussion edited January 2014
Apple Thursday gave a first look at its new New York City store located on Broadway at 67th street, set to officially open to the public this Saturday at 10 a.m.



The store will be home to a "highly trained team" of more than 200 employees. The impressive building at 1981 Broadway features a unique curved glass roof and glass front. The storefront is 54 feet tall, 75 feet wide and 30 feet deep.



"We opened our first store in Manhattan seven years ago, and the response has been incredible," said Ron Johnson, Apple?s senior vice president of Retail. "We hope our new store on the Upper West Side will become as much a part of the community as our stores in SoHo, the Meatpacking District and on Fifth Avenue."



The first 2,500 visitors to the store on Friday will receive a limited edition commemorative t-shirt.



Gary Allen at ifoAppleStore was present at the store Wednesday night after Apple removed a graphic that was concealing the glass storefront. It revealed a single stone-walled room lit by ceiling lights at night, and flooded with sunlight during the day.



The ground-level space includes four rows of display tables, and a spiral glass staircase leading down to a lower level. Allen said the size and scale of the store eclipses that of any previous Apple store.



















More photos and information are available at ifoAppleStore.



Gothamist was at Thursday's press event, and offers a number of photos from inside the new store.











Speaking at an event at the new store Thursday morning, Johnson said that the company realized their stores were too small, so all future locations will be at least "three tables wide." According to Gizmodo, the company also plans to accelerate its opening of stores next year, with 50 new locations set to debut in 2010.



The Mac maker also plans to have more "significant stores" that attract attention, like its flagship locations in New York City -- in particular the 5th Ave. store covered by a glass cube and open 24 hours a day, 365 days a year.



Johnson said that more than 10,000 people applied to work at the new Upper West Side store, though only about 200 were hired. The average Apple store sells about $26 million, or $4,300 per square foot.



The growth of Apple's stores has been impressive. Johnson said that the entire company did $5.4 billion in sales in 2001, while the stores alone have sold $6.6 billion in 2009. The company's total 2009 sales reportedly amount to $36.5 billion.



Last week, Apple announced that its stores would allow a new "Reserve and Pick Up" option via its retail Web site, allowing customers to reserve products online and pick them up in the store. The new system aims to allow holiday shoppers the ability to ensure their products will be available for them to purchase between Dec. 15 and Dec. 24.
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Comments

  • Reply 1 of 85
    kiweekiwee Posts: 102member
    Looks incredible.. Love the night-photo.
  • Reply 2 of 85
    West siiiiiiide!!!!!
  • Reply 3 of 85
    apple strikes again. Microsoft can only dream of replicating a tenth of apple's retail success.
  • Reply 4 of 85
    iqatedoiqatedo Posts: 1,822member
    Premium stores for premium products that even the rest of us can aspire to.
  • Reply 5 of 85
    Seems like a massive amount of empty (vertical) space to me. Being all glass, I can only imagine what the HVAC and cleaning bills will be.
  • Reply 6 of 85
    teckstudteckstud Posts: 6,476member
    OOOoooooohhhh- a glass box!

    Only Apple could invent that. We've never seen the likes of those hinged glass plates before in Manhattan.



    Those employees better be "highly trained" - those Upper West Siders can be demanding as hell. I know cause I lived up there for 3 years.

    Jerry Seinfeld lives not far from there.
  • Reply 7 of 85
    OMG...it's...BEAUTIFUL!
  • Reply 8 of 85
    teckstudteckstud Posts: 6,476member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by IQatEdo View Post


    Premium stores for premium products that even the rest of us can aspire to.



    .....AFFORD!!!! ( I couldn't resist)
  • Reply 9 of 85
    It almost looks unbalanced. The structure is tall, has partial walls on the inside with nothing on the upper 2/3, and just looks sparse.



    I think the interior layout works in mall stores with a lower ceiling but here the inside looks more like an afterthought.
  • Reply 10 of 85
    djrumpydjrumpy Posts: 1,116member
    I thought it was a little to sterile looking, but I suppose it would fit the image of uptown.
  • Reply 11 of 85
    iqatedoiqatedo Posts: 1,822member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by teckstud View Post


    .....AFFORD!!!! ( I couldn't resist)



    One might never be in a position to walk into a Porsche dealership and say "I'll have that GT3 over there" but with a little motivation and going without, one could aspire to a new Mac each year or two. \



    Techstud, you shouldn't allow yourself to be taken in so easily!



    Take care.
  • Reply 12 of 85
    It's obnoxious, wasteful, doesn't fit in with the 'hood, etc. WTF? They're going from small boutiques to MS style excess. So much for zen minimalism and being green.
  • Reply 13 of 85
    I don't understand why they didn't add a staircase and a second level, there's clearly room for it upwards
  • Reply 14 of 85
    My question is, where does the glass staircase lead to? Evidently it's a room under the main floor, but for what?



    EDIT: Looks to me that the checkout counter and 3rd party accessories area is probably on the lower level... but why would they require people go downstairs and then back up? Weird.
  • Reply 15 of 85
    tenobelltenobell Posts: 7,014member
    This store uses the iPod Touch POS system.
  • Reply 16 of 85
    msanttimsantti Posts: 1,377member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by 8CoreWhore View Post


    It's obnoxious, wasteful, doesn't fit in with the 'hood, etc. WTF? They're going from small boutiques to MS style excess. So much for zen minimalism and being green.





    Glass is very recyclable.
  • Reply 17 of 85
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by 8CoreWhore View Post


    It's obnoxious, wasteful, doesn't fit in with the 'hood, etc. WTF? They're going from small boutiques to MS style excess. So much for zen minimalism and being green.



    It's right around the corner from Lincoln center, so it actually fits in fairly well.
  • Reply 18 of 85
    tenobelltenobell Posts: 7,014member
    What do you mean doesn't fit into the hood. This store is just north of the Lincoln Center Art Complex, across the street from a three story Barnes and Noble, and across from a four story movie theater.



    There's nothing but large buildings, art campuses, and large retail complexes right where that store is.



    Quote:
    Originally Posted by 8CoreWhore View Post


    It's obnoxious, wasteful, doesn't fit in with the 'hood, etc. WTF? They're going from small boutiques to MS style excess. So much for zen minimalism and being green.



  • Reply 19 of 85
    tenobelltenobell Posts: 7,014member
    Downstairs are most of the computers, the check out counter, the genius bar, and accessories. The lower level floor space is larger than upstairs.



    Quote:
    Originally Posted by iReality85 View Post


    My question is, where does the glass staircase lead to? Evidently it's a room under the main floor, but for what?



    EDIT: Looks to me that the checkout counter and 3rd party accessories area is probably on the lower level... but why would they require people go downstairs and then back up? Weird.



  • Reply 20 of 85
    The glowing all-glass front and curved canopy plus the larger-than-life scale give it the look of a modern and grand stage or theater, which I think is perfectly suited for the neighborhood.



    The article says the store is opening Saturday morning - so why does it then say the first visitors ON FRIDAY are getting commemorative tshirts?
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