After rumors, then confirmation, and most recently, a logo on the front of a construction facade, Apple Inc. will open its long-awaited retail store in the Franklin Park Mall.
The Cupertino, Calif., electronics company finally confirmed Tuesday that its new store will hold a grand opening at 9 a.m. Saturday.
Apple said the first 1,000 guests to enter its new store will receive a commemorative T-shirt. Franklin Park officials said the mall’s doors located between Dick’s Sporting Goods and Talbots will open at 8 a.m. and lines will form in front of the new Apple Store.
The Apple Store will be in the food court wing, across from Pottery Barn and The Limited.
News of the retailer’s impending arrival first came to light in July when Apple posted 15 job openings to an employment Web site. The openings were for a new store in Toledo.
Apple would not respond to inquiries about its Toledo plans. Later, the tenant in its planned location moved to another site in the mall, kiosks in front of the store site were removed, and last month an Apple logo was placed on the black construction facade in front of the store.
Rumors of Apple’s plans to open in Franklin Park first surfaced two years ago when the mall was owned by Westfield Inc. Sources indicated the store was to open in 2012 but a deal was never confirmed.
Gary Allen, a blogger who follows Apple store news reported Tuesday that the Franklin Park store apparently was planned by Apple several years ago because its store number is 266. New stores now are numbered in the 600, he stated.
Apple has been expanding its retail footprint in Ohio. Earlier this year it opened a store in Dayton, its seventh Ohio store. The closest Apple Store to Toledo is in Ann Arbor.
Currently, Apple computers, iPads, and iPods are sold in Toledo only by authorized resellers such as the MacCafe and Best Buy stores.
The MacCafe does not sell iPhones.
An Apple store sells all Apple products and also provides service repairs. In 2011, the chain ranked first among U.S. retailers in sales per unit area at $3,085 in sales per square foot, twice that of the No. 2 retailer, Tiffany & Co.
Contact Jon Chavez at: jchavez@theblade.com or 419-724-6128.
First Published December 3, 2014, 5:00 a.m.
