Danny Gorog05 June 2008, 1:00 PM
According to insiders, the flagship Apple store in King street, Sydney is expected to open at 6pm on June 19.
Tipsters are also predicting that Steve Jobs, Apple CEO will be present at the launch, though media isn't holding its breath for interview opportunities.
While Apple has been dodging questions since construction began late in 2007, last week a covering appeared over the building's facade with the tag-line 'Drop in soon. Apple Store, Sydney'.
As anticipated, Apple has spared no expense in opening their flagship Sydney store.
IfoAppleStore, the website that tracks all things related to Apple store openings around the world says the banner 'is of the same custom-made, 3M plastic material that covered the Boylston Street (Boston) glass storefront, and depicts a “wave” design made of iPods. Tipsters say the covering material is expensive, costing about $10 to $12 per square-foot, or about $25,000 for this 70-foot wide store. '
While the Sydney store will certainly be the biggest Mac reseller in Australia it's not Apple's biggest. That title goes to the recently opened Boylston Street store in Boston.
Boston Business Journal reports that 'the custom-designed three-story building is 1,983-square meters with an all-glass facade, and signature details including smoked glass, chrome and stone floors from Florence. The store, which was built with "green" elements, is filled with natural light and is spacious. It has a green roof and rain water fills the water table below.' The Journal also notes that the store opening created 165 new jobs for the Boston area.
As a comparison, Apple in Sydney has leased the first three levels of the building at King Street, Sydney, with a total of 1335 square meters, or about seventy percent of the floor space of the Boston store.
Store openings are also reportedly lavish affairs with media and local celebrities descending on the store for a first-view. In Boston, for example the entire Boston Red Sox team were invited to the preview event. According to those that have attended previous openings, customers should expect long-queues when the store does open. With iPhone 2.0 launch likely to coincide with the event, expect mayhem.