Thursday, January 06, 2011

Shanghai's 1st Apple Store

This is Shanghai's first Apple store which opened in July 2010. The new store bears a striking resemblance to the flagship Fifth Avenue store in New York City. Located next to the IFC Mall in Lujiazui Financial District in Pudong, aboveground is a 40-foot high glass cylinder (apparently with the largest curved glass panes in the world), with a descending spiral staircase that leads into the actual underground retail space. Unlike New York though, there is an inexplicably shallow moat of water surrounding the store, tripping up those who don't watch their step. 
The store itself is 1500 square meters and holds the most goodies in any Apple store the world over - over 250 unique Apple products on display for people to try, including over one hundred Macs. It also boasts one of the largest Genius Bars, taking up the entire length of the back wall. On staff there are over 175 employees to help customers, 75% of whom are native Shanghainese and 80% of whom hold graduate degrees. Apple expects its China stores to be some of the busiest in the world.

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