Apple Singapore to open two more stores

Recruiting is underway for the new Apple Marina Bay Sands flagship store – and another.

Advertising on Apple Singapore’s jobs portal promotes roles believed to be for two new stores in the city.

Construction has been under way for many months on the Marina Bay Sands flagship.

Like the nearby Louis Vuitton Maison ‘island’ the new Apple store will emerge from the water, linked to the shopping centre by an underwater passageway. The location in which it is being constructed was previously tenanted by a nightclub.

In the photo above, the store’s location is the dark “island” construction to the right. On the left is the Louis Vuitton Maison.

The location of the second flagship has been the subject of endless speculation for some months, despite it being – in the words of a senior Singapore retail industry executive last month – “one of the worst kept secrets in town”.

Despite the complexity of the construction and approval processes for the Apple Marina Bay Sands store, public information has been scant with development approvals we found online only relating to the closure of the nightclub and the rezoning of the space to retail. Apple is notoriously secretive about its store plans until just days ahead of their opening.

The store is believed to have been designed by Foster + Partners in London, which was responsible for the Orchard Road flagship store and others recently opened in Milan and Macau. The company is also working on another, controversial, store planned for downtown Melbourne, Australia.

Meanwhile, Apple Singapore’s jobs portal is advertising 12 retail positions for a new store, which it describes as being located in “Singapore East”. There is no indication of commencement dates for the roles, but these roles are most likely to be for a third store, planned for the new Jewel shopping centre under construction at Changi Airport and managed by CapitaLand.