Grand Central Terminal
NYC iPad line: Shorter than iPad 2, longer than expected
March 16, 2012: 9:52 AM ETAn analyst offers 3 reasons that 750 customers at 8 a.m. was "strong start"
Fifth Avenue iPad line. Photo: Ryan via AppleInsider
Piper Jaffray's Gene Munster flew to New York City for Apple's (AAPL) launch of the new Pad Friday morning and counted 750 people waiting in line outside the big glass cube on Fifth Avenue when doors opened at 8 a.m.
He declared it a "strong start" despite the fact that Friday's headcount was 37% lower than the 1,190 he counted at the same store last year for the launch of the iPad 2.
"We expected the line to be shorter than 750," he wrote in a note to clients Friday morning, and offered three reasons:
- The launch was preceded by 9 days of pre-orders that Apple had described as "off the charts." There were no pre-orders for the iPad 2.
- The new iPad went on sale at 8 a.m., compared to the more convenient 5 p.m. launch of the iPad 2.
- This was the first Apple product launch since the opening of the huge Grand Central Terminal store, which may have funneled some of the customer traffic away from Fifth Avenue.
-
Apple's Grand Central public toilet distortion field
Trying to get a straight answer to one of life's simplest questions
One of the great public services Apple (AAPL) offers in its flagship stores -- besides free repairs at the Genius Bars -- is bathrooms for its customers.
So when Apple was getting ready to open an enormous new store in Manhattan's Grand Central Terminal -- its fifth retail outlet in a city notorious for its lack of public facilities -- MORE
Philip Elmer-DeWitt - Dec 24, 2011 4:21 AM ETPosted in: Apple, Apple Store, Bathrooms, Grand Central Terminal, Manhattan, New York City, Public relations, Public toilet -
Apple posts photos of its Grand Central Store opening
Apple's (AAPL) official photographs of Friday's opening ceremonies -- and the crowd that gathered in Grand Central Terminal to watch them -- are now available on its website here.
One as yet unsolved mystery: How Apple plans to lock the store at night.
Below: The staff.
Philip Elmer-DeWitt - Dec 10, 2011 3:09 PM ET -
Video: Thousands queue up for Apple's Grand Central store
And hundreds more crowd the terminal's main lobby to see what the fuss is about
What if Apple (AAPL) opened a new store and nobody came? We may never know. Thousands turned out early Friday for the opening of its fifth retail store in Manhattan, this one perched on the balconies above the main lobby of Grand Central Terminal.
The company promised free T-shirts for the first 4,000 visitors. By 11:00 a.m., MORE
Philip Elmer-DeWitt - Dec 9, 2011 9:52 AM ET -
Video: A walkthrough Apple's Grand Central Terminal store
A three-minute YouTube tour, shot during Apple's (AAPL) press preview Wednesday, two days before the grand opening scheduled for Friday Dec. 9 at 10 a.m. (Free T-shirts for the first 4,000 visitors.)
The space was occupied today only by Apple staffers and representatives of the media. It may never be so empty again.
See also our report from inside the store here and Apple's press release here.
Philip Elmer-DeWitt - Dec 7, 2011 1:19 PM ETPosted in: Apple, Apple Store, Grand Central Terminal, Grand opening, New York City, Retailing, YouTube -
Inside Apple's new Grand Central Terminal store
2 Genius Bars, 45 display tables, 3 walls of accessories, free Wi-Fi and no "public" toilets
Apple is reported to have paid $5 million to Metrazur Restaurant to buy out the eight years remaining on its Grand Central Terminal lease.
We suspect both sides of the deal got a bargain.
Metrazur, judging from the reviews in Yelp before it closed, was famous for strange sauces and slow service.
Apple (AAPL), judging from a tour of MORE
Philip Elmer-DeWitt - Dec 7, 2011 11:22 AM ET -
Apple's Grand Central store opening officially set for Dec. 9
A retail outlet well-placed to become one of the world's busiest and most profitable
More than four months after construction began last summer, Apple (AAPL) is finally set to unveil a new store -- its fifth in New York City -- on the upper balcony of Grand Central Terminal at Lexington Avenue and 42nd Street.
The company announced Thursday that the space will open to the public at 10 a.m. Friday December 9. MORE
Philip Elmer-DeWitt - Dec 1, 2011 11:48 AM ET -
Apple's Grand Central Terminal Store will miss Black Friday
The sign says "arriving soon," but don't hold your breath
Apple (AAPL) hasn't set a date for the grand opening of its fifth Manhattan store, but according to a construction worker who spoke to Mashable's Samantha Murphy, it won't be before December.
For more on the store, see Apple's Grand Central store would be its cheapest in NYC.
Philip Elmer-DeWitt - Nov 23, 2011 10:29 AM ETPosted in: Apple, Apple Store, Black Friday, Grand Central Terminal, Manhattan, New York City, Retail -
Apple's Grand Central store would be its cheapest in NYC
Plans call for a 23,000-sq.-ft. store with minimal alterations of the landmark building
Contrary to rumors and published reports, the new store that Apple (AAPL) wants to build in New York City's Grand Central Terminal would not be its largest. At roughly 23,000 square feet, it would be smaller than London's Regent Street (25,000 sq. ft.) and the Covent Garden (24,600) stores.
But according to ifoAppleStore's Gary Allen, it would be one MORE
Philip Elmer-DeWitt - Jul 26, 2011 7:30 AM ET -
Today in Tech: iPhone 5 cheaper, voice features, too
A curated selection of the day's most newsworthy tech stories from all over the Web. Sign up to get the newsletter in your inbox every morning.
President Obama wined and dined many of Silicon Valley's top execs last night during his first official trip to the San Francisco Bay Area. On the guest list: Apple CEO Steve Jobs, Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg, Twitter CEO Dick Costolo, Google CEO Eric Schmidt, Oracle CEO MORE
JP Mangalindan, Writer - Feb 18, 2011 8:33 AM ET
