The first Apple stores opened in McLean, Virginia, and Glendale, California, this May to great acclaim. But since opening weekend crowds jammed the two stores, Apple has issued nary a peep about its retail plans except to reaffirm its goal of opening 23 more stores by the end of the year.
Apple’s retail strategy came into sharper focus Wednesday when Steve Jobs announced new stores that would open in August in four cities: Dallas, Texas; Minneapolis, Minnesota; Boston, Massachusetts; and the suburbs of Chicago.
Specifically, Apple will open its Dallas store at the Willow Bend shopping center in Plano. The Boston store is slated for the Northshore Mall in Peabody, Massachusetts. In Minnesota, Apple will open a store at the massive Mall of America in Bloomington. And the Woodfield Mall in Schaumburg, Illinois, will host Apple’s first Chicgao-based outlet.
Apple got into the brick-and-mortar retail game to increase its market share. The company wants to attract new customers to the platform — people who don’t consider the Mac when they’re shopping for a computer — and it figures the way to do that is to give people a place where they can have a hands-on experience with the Mac.
“The results have been terrific, just terrific,” Jobs said Wednesday.
Jobs also reaffirmed Apple’s goal of opening 25 stores by the year’s end. With six sites confirmed, where will the remaining 19 open? Apple’s not saying officially, though at the May grand openings, the company indicated it planned to open other stores in California, Illinois, New York, and Connecticut. Meanwhile job postings at Apple’s Web site give a hint as to the cities Apple is considering.