• Apple Retail Roundup: Palo Alto Store, Hurricane Sandy Preparations, Shenzhen Store
  Apple’s retail store unit has been generating some news over the past few days, so we’ve put together a roundup of some of the more significant items to summarize the latest developments.

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  - Apple opened its new Palo Alto store on Saturday. The new store replaces the company’s previous downtown Palo Alto store that had typically been considered the company’s “home store” and was occasionally visited by executives for major product launches. That store, opened in October 2001, was one of the first in Apple’s retail chain.

  
  
  Apple’s new Palo Alto retail store
  
  Apple CEO Tim Cook was on hand for the opening of the new store, which is roughly 50% larger than the original one and is one of the first of a new prototype design based on the Upper West Side store in Manhattan. Houston’s Highland Village store opened earlier this year with a similar design, while the company is also using the concept for a replacement store in Santa Monica, California.

  - As the massive Hurricane Sandy approaches the Mid-Atlantic/Northeast coast of the United States, Apple retail stores are making their own preparations. Business Insider shared several photos from CNN producer Jonathan Wald showing Apple’s subterranean Fifth Avenue store in Manhattan with sandbags piled in front and display products wrapped in plastic.

  
  
  Sandbags and taped windows at 14th Street store in Manhattan (Thanks, Ethan!)
  
  ifoAppleStore notes that at least 35 Apple retail stores are located within the landfall prediction zone, and with many areas shutting down in advance of the storm it seems that Apple will be temporarily closing at least some locations from this group.

  - Finally, in line with Apple retail chief John Browett’s announcement at the opening of the latest Beijing retail store earlier this month, Apple will be opening its new Holiday Plaza store in Shenzhen, China on Saturday.

  
  
  Construction barrier at Holiday Plaza store in Shenzhen (Source: M.I.C. gadget)
  
  The location is notable as Shenzhen is the hub for much of Apple supply chain for its products, with Foxconn having massive facilities in the city dedicated to assembly of iOS devices. The city is also a hub for the counterfeiting industry and is the main point of entry for scalped products coming across the border from Hong Kong.

  
  

  

  

• Apple Sells Out of Remaining Launch Day iPad Mini Pre-Order Stock
  While Apple sold out of white iPad mini pre-order stock in just minutes on Friday, supplies of the black models held out quite bit longer for those in the United States where Apple was showing greatest availability.

  
  
  Availability of the black models in the U.S. online store began to slip on Saturday, when shipping dates for the 16 GB Wi-Fi model moved to two weeks. The 32 GB and 64 GB models have now followed suit, and all Wi-Fi iPad mini models are now being quoted two-week shipping estimates. Apple is still quoting its original “Mid November” estimate for cellular-capable models in the U.S., with other countries seeing “Late November” estimates.

  The iPad mini will officially launch this Friday, November 2. For those who were not able place pre-orders in time, Apple’s retail stores will begin sales at 8:00 AM on Friday.

  Apple’s fourth-generation iPad is also launching on Friday under a similar schedule that will see cellular-capable models delayed until mid-to-late November. New pre-orders for Wi-Fi iPad models are currently seeing shipping estimates of one week in many countries, with some seeing two-week estimates.

  
  

  

  

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