The Pioneer Press, a St. Paul-based newspaper, is reporting that Apple will be opening a retail store in Minneapolis. This was first reported in the Mac press by AppleInsider, and later confirmed by a job posting at Monster.com as we reported last Thursday. The Pioneer Press adds to the story by reporting that the new store will specifically be located in The Mall Of America, that tribute to all that is "Middle America." According to the Pioneer Press article:
Apple Computer Inc. will be opening a retail store at the Mall of America, a spokeswoman for the Bloomington shopping center said Monday.
The mallis confirmation comes in the wake of recent reports that Apple plans to open several retail stores across the nation.
Mall of America spokeswoman Lou Ann Bravinder declined to disclose details about Appleis opening, referring questions to the California-based maker of Macintosh personal computers.
Apple spokeswoman Lynn Fox declined to comment. "We donit comment on rumors,ii she said.
There is some additional analyst commentary in the piece, so take a look.
In the meanwhile, Observer John Gettler wrote in with some information on the Mall of America. You can check out their remarkably garish and unpleasant-looking Web site for yourself, but be warned that it is hard on the eyes. Some fast facts that Mr. Gettler gleaned for us include:
- Number of stores: More than 520
- Number of visitors each year: 30 million people each year
- Average number of visitors each day: 82,000
Thanks to Observer John Gettler for doing a little digging for us.