Little Apple

Apple Computer (Cupertino, Calif.) will unveil its new “mini” retail store — an all-new design featuring stainless steel walls and seamless white floors and ceilings — when it opens in six new locations tomorrow.

The mini store is half the size of Apple’s smallest store to date, which will allow it to be placed in a variety of new locations. Apple will open its first six mini stores on Saturday in Palo Alto, San Jose and Santa Rosa, Calif.; Tukwila, Wash.; and Bridgewater and Rockaway, N.J.

“Our mini store is a big experience that fits in a small space,” said Ron Johnson, Apple’s senior vp, retail. “The mini store’s small size will allow us to place stores in a variety of interesting new locations, while retaining innovations like the Genius Bar that have made Apple’s retail stores such a hit.”

During the first three years of Apple’s retail strategy, the computer manufacturer has opened 84 retail stores in the United States and says that today over half of the U.S. population lives within 15 minutes of an Apple retail store. The company says the mini store is designed to precisely locate additional stores closer to customers to make it even more convenient to purchase products and get help.