Over the years, Apple has been making less and less of an appearance at the annual Apple Expo in Paris, France. This year, reports claim that Apple is ditching the event all together. In the past, Apple has had two booths, one just called “Apple,” and the other “Apple Store,” but both of those names are absent on this year’s docket of events. According to a MacGeneration report, Reed Exhibitions France, the event organizer, plans to make a statement on the anonymous tip-offs within the week. The Paris event used to rival the likes of WWDC and MacWorld, but times have changed, and Apple Expo has become more of sideshow than a big time event. The last time Apple made a full-blown keynote there was 2004.
But, to compensate for the lack of attendance to the Apple Expos, Apple will soon be opening its first French Apple Store, located in Carousel de Louvre in the heart of Paris. Coming in at two stories and almost 8,000 square feet, this new store is strategically important for Apple, as the store is expected to attract 9 million people, 60% of which will be local Parisians, and the other 40% being tourists. “Apple’s other retail stores have typically been restricted to US, the UK, Canada and Japan, although expansion is underway in countries such as Italy and Australia,” reports MacNN.
Apple Store via [MacNN]
Apple Expo via [Apple Insider]
This just in: Apple has confirmed both their absence at the Expo and the Paris Store