Apple Stores Refreshed, Redesigned And Reopened

Apple Fifth Avenue reopens on iPhone 11 launch day

- Benjamin Kerry & Gavin Lenaghan

On September 20, 2019, the same day that the iPhone 11, iPhone 11 Pro and iPhone 11 Pro Max was released to retail stores, Apple undertook a well-publicized reopening of one of its own stores: that at Fifth Avenue in New York City. This Apple Store on Manhattan’s major thoroughfare has long been iconic due largely to its distinctive glass cube, but it’s the in-store experience where the major improvements have been made – and it’s hardly the only Apple Store warranting renewed optimism.

APPLE FIFTH AVENUE IS BACK AND BETTER THAN EVER

Until recently, walking past that particular Apple Store’s usual location on Fifth Avenue wouldn’t have prompted many flickers of recognition in you. In early January 2017, Apple announced that its flagship store’s operations would temporarily shift into the nearby General Motors Building while the usual space was renovated. Later that year, even the glass cube was dismantled, leaving the store without its usual surface-level entrance, but with renovations proceeding in the underground shopping area.

That September, Angela Ahrendts – then Apple’s retail chief – revealed more about the company’s plans for the Fifth Avenue outlet and other stores, explaining that Apple was “going to continue to reinvest in our 400 classic locations, including Apple Fifth Avenue in New York City, where we’re opening up the plaza to allow natural sunlight to come in to a greatly expanded space below.”