Neil Hughes
A new Apple Store is currently being built at the address 72 Greene St. According to an anonymous tipster who contacted AppleInsider, construction workers at the site allegedly said the new location is temporary while the main SoHo store at 103 Prince St. undergoes renovations.
Gary Allen of ifoAppleStore.com dug through the city's building permits and discovered that one was issued last Thursday for a $1.4 million project designed by an Alameda, Calif., architectural firm that has done work for Apple in the past. The project is described as:
"Change of use at second floor and portion of cellar and first floor to retail store and accessory offices. Remove & construct partitions, doors, ceiling and finishes..."
The documentation makes no mention of Apple, as is standard procedure for the company. The paperwork also does not include any diagrams of the store. The parcel expected to be utilized by Apple is a five-story building 100 feet deep and 75 feet wide.
"Apple will use the cellar for back-of-house, ground floor and partial second level for public retail, and part of the second for offices," Allen told AppleInsider. "The third, fourth and fifth floors remain as what they are — offices of other firms, I believe."
Plans to expand Apple's SoHo store were uncovered by Allen this March, revealing the company's plans to use a 5,000-square-foot retail space formerly occupied by the U.S. Postal Service. The extra space would bring the SoHo store more inline with other larger Apple retail stores found in New York City.
Last month, it was discovered that Apple would temporarily relocate its SoHo store to allow for the much-needed expansion, but at the time the location of that temporary store was unknown. The move to 72 Greene St. is expected to occur at some point in the next few months, though no timetable has been given.
The renovations at Apple's SoHo store are the second major New York-based undertaking from the iPhone maker this year. Work is already underway to replace the iconic glass cube that serves as the entrance to the company's heavily trafficked Fifth Avenue store; that project will cost the company $6.7 million.
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Mike Wuerthele and Malcolm Owen
8 Comments
Why do successful stores feel the need to reconfigure their appearances? I can understand changing things around if doing it gets more sales. Grocery stores have a specific layout no matter where you go. They've found a formula that works to get people to travel the maximum distance to get to the items that are most popular, thus ensuring other items have a chance to be seen and picked up.
Wal-mart moves complete shelves around regularly so that it makes customers search for things that aren't in the same place they were the previous month. I hate that. I don't buy anything else. I only buy what I want and intend to get.
Apple doesn't have too many products. I don't think someone wanting an iPod will purchase an iMac just because they walked past one on the way to the iPods.
Changing the exterior of an iconic design seems to be a bad and expensive idea. Will Apple ever make up for the expenses incurred during the remodeling with increased sales? I doubt it. It might take twenty years to earn the additional millions of dollars spent for the renovation, and that is only if the different layout attracts more buyers. It might not.
Changing the exterior of an iconic design seems to be a bad and expensive idea. Will Apple ever make up for the expenses incurred during the remodeling with increased sales? I doubt it. It might take twenty years to earn the additional millions of dollars spent for the renovation, and that is only if the different layout attracts more buyers. It might not.
I agree. Apple should watch how much it spends on its brick and mortar stores if it ever wants to become price competitive.
Alas, I suspect that, under the current administration, it has no plans to ever cut back its selling prices, if only to increase the Mac market share and/or catch up with Android smartphones.\\\
Why do successful stores feel the need to reconfigure their appearances? I can understand changing things around if doing it gets more sales. Grocery stores have a specific layout no matter where you go. They've found a formula that works to get people to travel the maximum distance to get to the items that are most popular, thus ensuring other items have a chance to be seen and picked up.
Wal-mart moves complete shelves around regularly so that it makes customers search for things that aren't in the same place they were the previous month. I hate that. I don't buy anything else. I only buy what I want and intend to get.
Apple doesn't have too many products. I don't think someone wanting an iPod will purchase an iMac just because they walked past one on the way to the iPods.
Changing the exterior of an iconic design seems to be a bad and expensive idea. Will Apple ever make up for the expenses incurred during the remodeling with increased sales? I doubt it. It might take twenty years to earn the additional millions of dollars spent for the renovation, and that is only if the different layout attracts more buyers. It might not.
its not intended to completely redesign the store, just to make it bigger. In an earlier report apple insider said that they're changing it to make room for the demand. They're expanding to the post office in the back i believe. and they could always be more successful...
I agree. Apple should watch how much it spends on its brick and mortar stores if it ever wants to become price competitive.
Alas, I suspect that, under the current administration, it has no plans to ever cut back its selling prices, if only to increase the Mac market share and/or catch up with Android smartphones.\\\
Like, they do not earn money? Hunting for low price is easy. Success thru outstanding performance is harder - but so much more sweet.
Why should they be "price competitive" - whatever you mean by that? Have you ever realized customers may view things differently? Maybe not everyone want cheap?
Ohhh. Well, I think Apple proves you wrong. Every day, every hour, every second.
I agree. Apple should watch how much it spends on its brick and mortar stores if it ever wants to become price competitive.
I won't even bother to mention that Apple has no intention of competing with Dell or Acer on computer pricess. This is so obvious and has been explained to you many, many times before.
Concerning phones, Android fans go rabid when you say Android is the low cost option to the iPhone--they quickly point out that there are plenty of Android models that cost as much. So one could make the case that they are price competitive without mention that the $49 3GS is also a top seller.
In terms of the tablet market, which Apple reinvented (if not saved), there is no evidence that Apple's competitors can put out a a tablet with the iPad's fit, finish and experience at a comparable price and make any profit.
Alas, I suspect that, under the current administration, it has no plans to ever cut back its selling prices, if only to increase the Mac market share and/or catch up with Android smartphones.
I wanted to respond to this thoughtfully, but I couldn't stop laughing...