Apple Store Stanford Shopping Center

The Apple Store Stanford Shopping Center, was the first Apple "mini" concept retail store in the world. The store is located at the Stanford Shopping Center in Palo Alto, California.
Store History
The Apple Store "mini" concept was designed to be significantly smaller than the traditional Apple Stores, but would still sell a similar volume as their larger cousins. The Stanford store was revealed to the press at a special "sneak peek" press conference hosted by Steve Jobs two days before the official grand opening, making it the first "mini" store to be viewed by the public. The store was initially slated to open as the first "mini" store. However, due to construction delays, it was pushed back to open along with five other "mini" stores. It is still considered by Apple to be the first "mini" store, and it is the store featured in all Apple "mini" stores advertisements and promotional material. The Stanford Apple store, to date, is the only outdoor "mini" store nominally independent from a mall.
Problems
The store opened on October 16, 2004 to mixed reviews. Both the general public and Apple immediately noticed several problems with the concept. The floor, which had been laid prior to opening, was made of a pure white epoxy resin similar to aircraft hangars. Shoe and scuff marks quickly accumulated. Additionally, the walls were made of an imported Japanese steel similar in appearance to Apple's PowerBook line of computers. However, unlike the Powerbooks, the store walls quickly accumulated smudge marks and hand prints from the oil on human hands. The lighting was considered overbearing and jarring in the store, especially in the evenings.
The store did not open with the expected self check-out kiosks for smaller products, and has yet to have the kiosks installed. The stations designed for the kiosks remain normal cash registers, however they are poorly designed for the role. Steve Jobs was disappointed with the floor design in particular.
Redesign & Rebuild
The store has continued to be a testbed for the "mini" store concept after a redesign and rebuild in July 2005. The epoxy floor was replaced with a stone floor common in larger Apple stores. A table was installed in the center of the store to give the Stanford "mini" store the ability to display the entire Apple product line, a first for the "mini" concept.

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