Report: Apple plans Paris retail store for 2007

Jobs was visiting the Apple Store Regent Street in London with lead industrial designer Jonathan Ive this Tuesday when a correspondent for French news site MacPlus.net suggested that Apple open a store in Paris.

"We are...in 2007," Jobs replied. Mr. Ive also gave the same answer, but offered no further details. The two Apple executives are in London this week to attend the D&AD Awards at Old Billingsgate, notes Macworld UK. They'll be joined by 1,800 guests at the annual celebration of design excellence.

The Cupertino, Calif.-based Apple has been seeking a prime location on the famous Champs Elysées in Paris since 2003. The grand boulevard spans over a mile in length and is flanked by high-profile outlets like Louis Vuitton, Sephora, Louis Pion, Mercedes-Benz, Swatch, and Givenchy.

Senior Vice President of Apple Retail, Ron Johnson, has previously named Champs Elysées one of five "key locations" in the world where he said Apple needed to operate a retail store. The company has already built stores in the four other locations: North Michigan Avenue, SoHo, Ginza and Regent Street.

Apple this past weekend opened its sixth international retail store location, setting up shop in Toronto, Canada's Yorkdale Shopping Center. The company also operates three stores in Japan and two in the UK.