Apple Postpones Frankfurt Retail Store Opening at Last Minute

Apple's Frankfurt Retail Store Under Wraps
Courtesy of Macerkopf.de
ifoAppleStore reports on news out of Germany [Google translation] that Apple has canceled the grand opening of its planned Frankfurt retail store just two days before the event. The reasons behind the delay are currently unknown beyond suppositions that some aspect of the store's construction was not able to be completed in time, and there has been no public announcement of a revised opening date, although reports suggest that it will not occur until January.

As first reported by the iFun.de Web site, the opening has been pushed back to some date in January 2010, most likely because the store wasn't finished to Apple's rigorous standards. The street-level store was installed in an existing building, but it was heavily remodeled to include Apple's standard architecture. Early this morning the store's Web page was changed to say the store would open "soon." It only explained, "We're putting the finishing touches on the final touches."

Apple currently offers retail stores in Munich and Hamburg, with the now-delayed Frankfurt store planned to bring an official Apple presence to Germany's fifth-largest city at the heart of what is considered to be the country's second-largest metropolitan area. Apple has been including plans for rapid expansion of its international stores as part of a revised retail strategy, and recently opened its first two stores in France as part of the push.