Apple's Expanded Stonestown Retail Store To Reopen On Dec. 14
Apple's Stonestown Galleria retail store in San Francisco, Calif. is set to re-open on Dec. 14, following an expansion that has increased the size of the location to 7,690 square feet.
News of the expansion originally came from ifoAppleStore, which explains that the move arrived as part of an Apple initiative to expand some 20 different Apple Retail Stores in 2013, in order to meet demand from both shoppers and visitors to the built-in Genius Bars. Before closing for expansion, the retail store at Stonestown Galleria was actually Apple's smallest store in San Francisco; it launched in September 2004, but the size of the location has meant that accommodating shoppers, Genius Bar appointments, and One to One activities has been difficult.
As ifoAppleStore explains:
A characteristic black plywood construction barricade appeared this week in front of three spaces at the Stonestown Galleria where the future store will occupy 7,690 square-feet with an unusual curved glass storefront. That size will put the store on near-equal footing with San Francisco’s two other existing stores, which are street-level and range from 9,500 to 15,000 square feet. A city building permit (pdf) puts the value of the construction at $1,996,994.
You can view the aforementioned PDF by clicking this link.
Now, however, Apple has confirmed online that its Stonestown Apple Retail Store will reopen on Dec. 14, in time for one final week of shopping ahead of Christmas. More specifically, the expanded store will open at 8 a.m. local time, according to Apple.
The news comes following confirmation that Apple's Bluetooth-powered indoor mapping service, iBeacon, has launched in Apple Retail Stores across the United States. Provided iDevice users authorize the service, iBeacon allows Apple to push relevant information over to iOS-powered smartphones and tablets using the Apple Store app, when customers are browsing in one of the company's U.S. Apple Retail Stores.
Over the course of the next year, Apple is planning on launching more than 30 additional retail locations worldwide. The company's newly appointed head of retail, Angela Ahrendts, is set to join Apple in Cupertino from spring.
We'll keep you updated with further information as we receive it.
In the meantime, see: All-In-One Dashboard App Status Board Updated With Dropbox Integration And More, Bloodmasque Goes Free In Celebration Of More Than 500,000 Downloads, and Developer: Oceanhorn To Get New Content Through Future Update Or Sequel.
