Apple’s Infinite Loop Company Store Is Closing Next Month

Joe Rossignol, MacRumors:

Apple today confirmed that it will be permanently closing its Infinite Loop retail store in Cupertino, California on January 20. Infinite Loop served as Apple’s headquarters between the mid-1990s and 2017, when its current Apple Park headquarters opened a few miles away.

Apple will be offering all employees at the store the opportunity to continue working with the company. A source informed us that at least some employees will be able to relocate to nearby stores, including the Apple Park Visitor Center and Apple Valley Fair. [...]

The store first opened in 1993 as The Company Store, and it focused primarily on selling Apple-branded merchandise. Following renovations in 2015, it reopened as a more traditional Apple retail store, with products like the iPhone, Mac, and Apple Watch displayed on beige tables, but it continued to sell a limited selection of merchandise, like t-shirts, reusable bottles, mugs, and notebooks. The store is one of Apple’s smaller locations, and it does not offer Genius Bar appointments or “Today at Apple” creative sessions.

Infinite Loop is a popular attraction for Apple enthusiasts, who often make the pilgrimage to the campus and the store. However, it has been overshadowed by the Apple Park Visitor Center since that location opened in 2017. A different collection of Apple-branded merchandise is available for purchase at the Apple Park Visitor Center, and the location also serves as a traditional Apple retail store.

I had no idea that the Infinite Loop store carried different merchandise (mainly t-shirts, I’m reliably informed) than the Visitors Center store. I’ve only ever been there once, I think, and it was after the 2015 renovation.

I suppose this isn’t surprising, but you know the original campus is in trouble if building IL7 closes.

Update: Photos from The Company store in the 1990s, and if you scroll down a few comments, there’s a link to a screen capture of a QuickTime VR walkthrough of the store as it was circa 1994.

★ Thursday, 21 December 2023