Apple (News - Alert) stores tend to be spectacles of glass and clean white walls, but a new one on Palo Alto may put most mall-based stores to shame. Its new location will feature a new redesign, wide angles, a “floating” roof, and a big metaphorical middle finger to the nearby Microsoft store.
Palo Alto (News - Alert) has been an area seeing a lot of attention from Apple lately. It keeps increasing, from a store on University Avenue, to a larger location, and now to the new flagship store it’s constructing at the Stanford Shopping Center. The locations here are also known for testing retail products and systems, so it has a good reason for having the largest and the fanciest stores there.
Previously, Microsoft (News - Alert) struck a blow against Apple by opening up a new flagship spot by the smaller Apple store. To add insult to injury, it included a free Maroon 5 concert with its opening, essentially taunting Apple with its celebrations.
Now Apple is striking back, creating an even larger location. While it hasn’t announced any concert plans yet, the size and appearance of the new building should be enough to shame Microsoft, with a visually stunning new design.
However, construction hasn’t been the fastest process ever. The center was initially predicted to open in November of last year, but it’s proven to take far longer, as the building is made mostly out of glass. Employees don’t have an estimate on when it will open either, and are not likely to know until shortly before its completion.
Bigger is better, as they say, and a store this large, with its unique design, is sure to catch some attention. Will Microsoft strike back with a new store of its own? I can’t say, though I would hope that they’ll focus more on providing the best products than the flashiest buildings. Either way, Apple fans will want to take a trip down to Palo Alto upon the store’s completion.