The first Black Friday
Holiday shopping traditions, a new store in South Korea, and a closure in Hawaii.
Long before The Apple Store Shopping Event, Apple stepped into Black Friday 2001 with 22 stores spread throughout the suburban United States. Four of those stores — Valley Fair, Fashion Valley, The Falls, and Walden Galleria — celebrated grand openings on that same hectic day.
Apple Retail was small enough in 2001 that the entire calendar of store hours for every single location from Thanksgiving through New Year’s Day fit on one compact webpage. Oddly, this page incorrectly states that November 25 was Thanksgiving Day (it was November 22).
Apple repeated this tradition in 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, and 2007, at which point the webpage had become so comically long that it probably drove Mighty Mouse sales.
The grand Apple Gift Card tradition also began in 2001 with an aqua logo design that would still be a smash hit today. Cards at this time began at $50, not $10, and rose in $50 increments. 2001’s Holiday Gift Guide featured a gift box that looks suspiciously similar to the grand opening t-shirt boxes that stores began distributing in 2003:
Special offers during the 2001 holiday season included $500 off an Apple flat-panel display with the purchase of a Power Mac G4, $150 cash back or an HP 318xi digital camera with the purchase of an iMac, and an extra 128MB or 256MB of RAM with the purchase of a 550MHz or 667MHz PowerBook.
Apple Hanam
Apple’s sixth store in South Korea will open on December 9 at 10:00 a.m. Apple Hanam is the first store in the country outside of Seoul and the third at an enclosed shopping mall.
Hanam is a city in the Gyeonggi Province east of Seoul. Apple will open on 1F at Starfield Hanam, the second-largest mall in South Korea.
Apple says this store’s artwork was inspired by the landscape of Hanam and the flow of South Korea’s Han River. The store design will demonstrate universal design concepts that emphasize accessibility and sustainability. Between that description and the facade appearance, well-read Tabletops subscribers can probably guess what’s in store.
Head over to Apple’s website for store wallpapers and collections from the App Store, Apple Music, and Apple TV+.
Royal Hawaiian closing
In less cheerful news, Apple announced just before the holiday break that Apple Royal Hawaiian in Honolulu, Hawaii, will permanently close on January 20, 2024. Employees will be offered positions at Apple Ala Moana and Kahala.
A friend of mine recently reminded me of this YouTube video documenting opening day, complete with last minute prep work, dancing, and Hawaiian leis.
Royal Hawaiian was Apple’s third store in Hawaii and easily the most unique, with an outdoor, dark stone facade (perhaps of volcanic rock) and an unusual island in the center of the store lined with counters and graphic panels. If you’re not familiar with the design, the same YouTube channel uploaded new holiday b-roll of the store after the closure was announced.
Featured image
Apple Charleston
Photo via @jhthorn.