14 DAY TRIAL // ifoAppleStore is reporting that, despite the economic downturn, tipsters have told them Apple is planning a good number of store openings in 2009 as well. In fact, according to the site's analysis, some 11 shops are expected to open their doors in the first half of the next year.
“Despite the economic crisis, information from tipsters and other sources indicate no slowdown in Apple store grand openings for the first half of 2009,” the source dealing exclusively with Apple retail info says. Al least 11 shops are slated for opening from January through June, “indicating that 36 stores might open for the entire year, a figure in line with 2005-2007 activity,” ifo adds.
“Historically, 30 percent of store openings have occurred in the first six months of the year, allowing a forecast for the remainder of the calendar year. In this case, there are at least three stores that were planned for a 2008 opening,” the analysis continues, “but which encountered delays that have pushed the openings to 2009,” the people handling news and information about Apple's retail stores explain.
The same source points out that other countries are likely to see some grand openings as well – at least three in the first months, according to ifo, and another six during the first half of 2009. Some of the due dates also depend on construction progress, the report reveals.
“The outlook beyond June 2009 is less certain, although indications are that at least 15 stores are in the latter stages of planning that will lead to an eventual opening,” the analysis goes on. Several store projects, such as State Street (Santa Barbara) and Georgetown (DC), indicate certain openings as well, because of purchase or lease decisions made many months, or even years ago.
An interesting aspect revealed in the report is that shops like the future Carousel de Louvre one in Paris (France) are considered high-profile selling businesses, not focused on sales as much as one may think. Such stores heavily rely on “the service and training component” that Apple is known to provide in its retail locations, helping boost the company's image.
The analysis concludes listing a number of stores expected to open in the first half of 2009 with their respective localization. According to ifo, those “could be in” Zurich (Switzerland), Brighton and Reading (UK), Greensboro (NC), Little Rock (Ark.), Qianmen Street in Beijing (China), St. Paul (Minn.), Temecula (S. Calif.), Scottsdale (Ariz.), and Robina and Doncaster (Australia). Selling points in Santa Barbara (Calif.), Naperville (Ill.), Chicago (Ill.), Paris (France), and Frisco (Tex.) also depend on construction progress and may, therefore, not open during the first half of the next year.
Apple introduced 47 stores during 2008, a record number that the company isn't likely to surpass next year. Not that it's planning to.
