More Apple stores in the works

Although Apple Computer has refused to talk publicly about its plans to open its own retail outlets, the Mac maker is apparently continuing a national effort to secure store locations.

The latest spot is in Littleton, Colo., where Apple is planning a 6,500-square-foot store, according to the March issue of Shopping Centers Today, a publication of the International Council of Shopping Centers trade group.

"They're opening lots of them around the country now," Terry McEwen, president of Memphis-based Poag & McEwen Lifestyle Centers, told Shopping Centers Today. McEwen said that Apple's store will be part of a 60-store mall that Poag & McEwen plans to open in the Denver suburb in November.

The magazine also reported that owners of an unnamed New York City-area mall say they are close to a deal with Apple.

As previously reported, Apple has been quietly working for some time on plans to open its own retail stores. Apple filed plans last year with the city of Palo Alto, Calif., for a store there. Apple has also reportedly made plans to open stores in Glendale, Calif., and Chicago.

In late 1999, Apple hired Allen Moyer, a former Sony executive involved in retail projects such as the futuristic Metreon retail-entertainment complex in San Francisco.

An Apple representative was not immediately available for comment on the latest report.