Check photos of the waiting line, grand opening and store interior here, and then photos of the iPod touch POS and the evening line. Also review my on-going Twitter coverage of the event, which includes some videos and photos along the way. The setteb.IT Web site also has extensive coverage of the grand opening.

Sr. V-P Retail Ron Johnson said in 2001 that the Champs Elysees was one of those places a retailer must be. The company has still not reached that goal. But Johnson has promised to expand the number of stores in France, even saying that France would be the fastest expanding country for the Apple stores.

Once inside, casual visitors to the store didn’t notice Apple’s newest retail technology: an iPod touch specially modified to allow credit card swiping and barcode reading. Several employees were using the devices, which appeared just as small and sleek as shown in photos published exclusively by AppleInsider earlier in the week.

Not all the payment features of the iPod touch were being used in the Paris store. In Europe, it’s common to use a dedicated, portable terminal to process payments made with a smart-chip card, and those terminals were present at the store. Staffers are not actually swiping a credit or debit cards. Instead, they are using the iPod touch only to record the sale and print or e-mail a receipt, and using the credit terminal for the actual payment. The are not taking cash for purchases, as the iPod touch is designed to handle. Instead, the central POS counter is handling cash purchases.

At one point two employees encountered problems printing receipts to the under-table printers. A team of four technicians was on hand to solve technical issues, and was helping the staffers through the procedures to operate the touch POS devices to make sales. Employees were mindful of the new device, and at one point prevented photographs being taken of it. In perhaps typical French style, several employees used a slip-in case to clip the touch to their rear pockets.

The Friday waiting line began at 1:52 p.m. when Arthur arrived from a Paris suburb to become the first person in line. A man from Stuttgart (Germany) was next, followed over the next three hours by another four men from Paris. The line formed along the wall, under a diamond-shaped display case featuring oversized iPods in a Christmas shopping theme.

There was lots of activity inside the store, but no ceremony on Friday. Outside, it was usual buzz from the Louvre Museum crowd and shoppers. Many more stopped in front of the window on this day to stare inside and take pictures of the store. Some came over to ask the waiting line questions. Those in the waiting line came and went to eat or go to the bathroom, and we all watched each other’s belongings while they were gone.

Around 9:30 p.m. Friday workers began erecting the frame to hold a black curtain in front of the front window and doors. About 10 p.m. any view of the interior disappeared when the curtain went up. The curtain had disappeared by the next morning.

The waiting line of 12 was inside the Carrousel until about 10:30 p.m. Friday, when the mall security staff politely asked us to leave prior to the mall closing at 11 p.m. We had been warned the move was coming, and were ready for the cold. However, upon reaching ground level, we found it was raining slightly, wind and even more cold than we remembered from the day. The rain increased during the night, but stopped completely by the time the security staff allowed the line—now about 130—to come back inside. During the night, there were two motorcycle accidents along Rue de Rivoli and another collision when two vehicle tried to navigate the narrow portico entrance to the Louvre courtyard.

Dennis from Germany, Matt from Scotland, Mike from the U.S. and several people from other countries, including students, business men and tourists, made up the early line.

In the 90 minutes before moving inside, the waiting line continued to grow. As a new visitor approached the line from the Louvre courtyard, or appeared from Rue de Rivoli through the portico, the line would begin a chant—if the person joined the line, the crowd would cheer. If the person was just passing by, the chant would trail off into silence. Those joining the line were either embarrassed by the sudden attention, or waved back as they headed down the bicycle fencing to reach the end of the line.

After the line moved inside, the warmth and fatigue hit, and most in the line immediately sat down and dozed in the quiet hall. By 8:30 a.m. Saturday the waiting line was getting restless and more awake. by 9 a.m. the store staff had assembled to have their picture taken in front of the stairs. The press had arrived and were doing interviews with those at the front of the line, and taking video of the waiting line.

At 9:15 a.m. the entire store team of 100 employees came to the front window in their red shirts, calling for #1 Arthur, and clapping for two minutes. Not used to such attention but willing, Arthur stepped out of line, walked over in front of the window and the crowd, and raised him arms, as if to say “Thanks!” He returned to the line, only to have the staff continue clapping, making him return to the window for a second appearance.

At about 9:30 a.m. the staff came outside the store clapping and shouting, and moved down the line of 500 or so people waiting in line down the long hall of the Carrousel. They returned within minutes, and the final wait was on.

Just before 10 a.m. a count-down became audible from somewhere in the crowd—it was impossible to tell if the line started it or Apple. At “Zero,” there was a huge roar from the waiting line and the employees, and visitors began entering the store. The staff had formed a corridor leading inside and to the left, around the stairs. They raised their hands, gave “high-fives” and yelled. Later, as more groups of people came inside, the staffers would perform a “wave,” much to the surprise of those entering.

It was loud inside, especially since the entrance ritual was played out every few minutes, as visitors would leave, allowing new people to come inside. But it all lent to the excitement—probably strange excitement for the French—that is part of an Apple store opening.

It’s difficult to judge a store’s interior when it’s clogged with enthusiastic and curious visitors. Obviously, this store shares all the design materials of other stores: stone, wood, glass and stainless steel. But this store also shares several features of the more spectacular stores—views for visitors. In this case, lower-level visitors have a view of the spiral-glass staircase as it rises to the mezzanine or—even better—a vew through the staircase as light from the outer hall glass pyramid illuminates it from behind.

Lower-level visitors also can look outside through the 30-foot tall window to see activity outside and, again, that amazing inverted glass pyramid that marks the Carrousel du Louvre mall.

For those rising to the mezzanine, there is the constantly changing view of the store as you ascend the stairs. Once up-top, you can hug the railing and see all the activity down below, look outside beyond the back-lit Apple logo suspended in front of the front window, or even glance into the iPhone Activation Zone room angled off to the side.

Several other stores share these types of views, including Boylston Street (Boston), Buchanan Street (Glasgow), George Street (Sydney) and Regent Street (London).

Beyond the views, the store feels open and airy as you come into the lower level. However, as you move back to the rear of the space, the mezzanine level creates a ceiling that feels a little cramped. On the mezzanine itself, you’re back to feeling less constrained by the space, as the ceiling is taller and there are views all around.

The store certainly isn’t a large space. The mezzanine floor-space is necessarily limited in order to accommodate the glass staircase, which itself must be located based on structural and design reasons. The ground floor space is simply limited by the perimeter walls, which could not be expanded or changed in any way. But, typically Apple, for the most part the store never feels cramped. Even in the iPhone Activation Zone—a tiny space for Apple—the very tall ceiling gives visitors a change to “breath.”

The upstairs landing is very large, constrained on one side by the wall of the iPhone Activation Zone, and the other side by—it’s not clear. It seems as if the left side of the mezzanine could have been moved forward to create more floor space, and making the stair landing smaller. Then again, the stairs themselves could have been moved towards the front of the store, but that would have consumed some open space. Symmetry and engineering must be the reasons that the staircase is exactly where it is.

I counted the queue at various times, including 498 at 11: 30 a.m., from front of the store to the start of the outside “garden” zig-zag inside bicycle fencing, which held at least another 400. Later, at 5 p.m. I counted 137 people still in line waiting to get in, and noticed that no one coming out had a commemorative T-shirt, of which there were reportedly 5,000.

Apple is using the ShopperTrak system to track the number of visitors to the store.

The speedy Internet connection used by the store seems to connect to AT&T Worldwide, and a test run showed upload and download speeds of at least 26 Mbps.

The Apple security staff was polite, funny at times and completely focused on keeping us informed. They were always mindful of the order of the queue and making sure we were in the right place. The mall security staff—probably paid for by Apple—numbered at least 40, and monitored every point in the queue, including four sets of stairs to the outside entrance. Despite the nearly 750 to 800 people in line for hours, there appeared to be no incidents.

One of many first for an Apple store waiting line—the appearance of a naked man at 5:30 a.m., apparently intoxicated, enroute home and needing some attention. After five minutes of annoying the crowd by screaming “Windows” and “Linux,” he moved on.

I’m posting on-going news via twitter.com/ifostore, including videos if something interesting happens.

View the first photos of the store and its interior. Also read the MacGeneration story on the press briefing, during which Sr. V-P Retail Ron Johnson said that the Montpelier story will open November 14th, and for the first time confirmed the Rue Halévy store, and that it will open in summer 2010. MacPlus.net also has a story and video of Ron Johnson.

The Carrousel du Louvre is open nightly from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m., and advertises 45 “boutiques and restaurants.” The Apple store Wi-Fi network is operating and open, and is reachable from the mezzanine food court down the hallway. There’s no word on where or when the waiting line will form, or how soon it might be able to move inside on Saturday morning. The weather is cold (40s) and windy, but it drizzled only slightly Thursday evening.

Foot traffic in front of the store is continuous, almost all from visitors to the great Louvre Museum, but also from those who love to shop. If you’re a retailer and can’t be on the Champs Elysees, then you should be here, both for the traffic and the prestige.

The store’s setting comes on many levels. First, there are the ground-level brown stone buildings of the Louvre Museum. Some of the structures date to 1200, but most are of the 1700s, and exude history. The scale and size of the buildings is almost overwhelming, and surrounds the next setting—the I.M. Pei-designed glass pyramid visitor entrance to the museum. Designed and built in the 1980s, the modern design created storms of controversy when it was proposed—too new, critics said. The practical advantages of a new and underground visitor center won the debate, creating one what’s considered to be the best example of old and new structures co-existing.

Next, adjacent to the visitor center the government installed a two-story shopping center, apparently hoping to generate additional revenue. Today, the mix of retailers is a cross between high-end an low-brow stores. A Virgin store is directly across from Apple, with Swarovski and L’Occitane down the hallway. Further down the hall and around the bend, the stores look more those you’d find walking to catch a subway train.

But the huge hall where Apple’s store is located is as grand as the ground-level glass pyramid. In fact, the hall has its own inverted pyramid, which falls from the open ceiling to create a luminous light that brightens up the Apple storefront. It’s a place I call Pyramid Hall.

The hall is the crossroads for the Carrousel du Louvre, with hallways leading in four directions, including to the metal detectors for the museum itself. Large tours groups come by, led by a guide with her hand upraised. Everyone behind her is listening to a recorded description of the artworks. Few turned or noticed the Apple store on Thursday afternoon because they’re on a tight schedule. Most were headed to the museum line where visitor bags were being X-ray’d.

The hallway also attracts families on vacation, and groups of two or three friends who are vacationing in Paris, who just have to see the Louvre. These people might linger longer in Pyramid Hall, notice the Apple store and take a photo or two.

The Apple storefront is really only a single, 30-foot tall window, flanked by two narrow entrances. The reaminder of the store is the original, cream-color stone siding panels that mark the other retailers in the mall. Each entrance door leads into a two-story space that mirrors the scale of the main hall.

The glass staircase is prominent in the middle of this room, and leads up to the mezzanine, which like other two-level stores, includes the Genius Bar (actually two bars), iPods and iPhones, training tables, software and accessories.

The staircase is one of two varieties at Apple stores: this one is steel rod-supported, rather than base-supported. It ascends to the right, exactly like the first spiral staircase installed at Shinsaibashi (Osaka, Japan). Interestingly, the stairway entrance faces the inside of the store, preventing curious visitors from walking directly inside the store and then upstairs. Instead, they must walk nearly around to the other side of the staircase to ascend.

Beyond that main space, there is a smaller room to the right as your come in, also 30-feet tall. Apple has outfitted this room with sidewall display counters and a center wood table. Like the storefront, this side room also has a 30-foot tall window, but also has two narrower windows at an angle.

On Thursday afternoon, there were about 40 store employees inside wearing bright-red shirts with white lettering. Around 3 p.m. a group of men in business suits entered the store to the yells and chants of the employees. An hour later, the visitors were still touring the store and talking to the staffers. By 5 p.m. there was another group of people who were served champagne.

Those leaving the party and drinks were given plastic Apple shopping bags with pyramid-shaped white boxes, presumably containing the commemorative T-shirts that will be handed out to grand opening visitors on Saturday.

Sr. V-P Retail Ron Johnson appeared with Steve Cano, Sr. Director of International Retail. Other members of the retail store design team and the architects are also here for the grand opening.

To say that the store itself is spectacular would be inaccurate. To even say that within Pyramid Hall the store is a stand-out would be wrong. But taken in all the context that France, Paris and the Louvre offer, it’s a remarkable place. It fits simply and unobtrusively into centuries of history, but still manages to carry the Apple brand to a new country.

This map shows how a large portion of mid-LA has had no Apple store before the Los Cerritos Center location. All the stores have been focused on the San Fernando Valley, north LA and Orange County.

View Los Cerritos – Black-Out Zone in a larger map

Thanks to Adam and Yosef for these photos.

This view shows what the store looks like from the intersection, with a huge stone wall to the left, and what will be an impressive glass façade to the right.

This amazing view by Adam shows how the façade extends outward from the U-shaped stone side walls, the upward curve of the glass roof and the angle of the glass at the left street intersection.

View a gallery of photos from the grand opening, these panoramas of the store, and a grand opening video.

While all the excitement was focused on the Microsoft store, just 360 feet away the Apple store was closed, and covered with a black construction barricade. The store is undergoing a major remodel, bringing it up to 2009 standards. The store opened in February 2004.

About 70 persons waited overnight in line outside the store overnight. They were let inside about 7:30 a.m., and the crowd grew slowly to about 280 by the time Microsoft  COO Kevin Turner cut the red ribbon at 10 a.m. After the store opened, the line remained at about 250 for the next hour,  as visitors entered the store and new visitors joined the line. By 10:15 a.m. the line began to grow shorter, and at exactly 10:49 a.m. no more persons were in line.

The store itself is 60 feet wide, and the storefront is all-glass, providing an inviting view to the inside. The store is only 60 feet deep, so the interior doesn’t feel expansive. Wood floors and tables, bright ceiling panels and scores of laptops greet visitors when they come inside. Most conspicuous from any angle are the 120 47-inch video displays that line the two side walls. Sometimes the displays show a single image over the entire length of the displays, while at other times they show independent images.

The store is organized into four areas, although it’s not completely obvious to visitors. Within each area there is a Microsoft Surface device for visitor exploration. Display tables are organized into rows front-to-back. Display counters run along the side walls from front to almost-back. At the rear of the store are small product displays, including software, burn-to-order software, Xbox and computer carrying cases.

Also at the back of the store is the “Answers” counter, and behind that is a theater area with sit-down counters for training. A short table with laptops at the back is intended for exploration by children.

The tables are medium-tone blond wood, topped with a dark-brown, textured material. Some tables have receipt printers attached underneath, while others have shopping bag dispensers.

The side display counters are dark-brown and curve in-and-out as they run the depth of the store. Shorter stools are placed at various intervals.

A floor-to-ceiling, double-glass panel is positioned directly behind the Answers counter, providing some isolation for the training area. Raised sign letters on the glass indicate the “Answers” counter location, but the color of the letters blends in with the background, making the wording almost invisible.

Curvy white acrylics were located next to each displayh laptop to hold information cards—no desktops here. Some other product displays appeared to be made of dark grained wood, including a Windows 7 box holder.

The stools are made of the same mid-tone blond wood as the tables. They have a square seat with a cut-out hole for handling the stool. The children’s table had similar, very short seats.

The Wait & Opening

The waiting line began at the mall entrance at 3 p.m. on Wednesday, by a woman over 30 years-old who said she was saving a place for her daughter. However, she did express some curiousity for the Microsoft store herself. Several teen girls made up the next 10 to 15 positions, followed by a mixed group of 30-ish men, fathers, more teens and mothers. All were wrapped in blankets or snuggled into sleeping bags to protect against the low-50s cold.

The line reached 60 persons at about 10:30 p.m., and grew to 75 by midnight. The line snaked past the three portable toilets brought in for the occasion, and stayed at 75 until about 5:30 a.m., when more persons began to slowly arrive.

At least one person from the waiting line reported receiving a Zune from Microsoft. It’s not clear if anyone received such a gift. At 11 p.m., Microsoft came outside and handed out free copies of Windows 7 to those in line, which numbered about 75 at that point.

Once inside the warmer mall, some in the waiting line sat down again and tried to nap, while others stood. Microsoft employees came around pulling Red Flyer wagons loaded with Clif Bars and bottled water. There was some chanting from inside the store, but a white cloth blocked any view of the activity.

During the wait, stores employee threw and handed out white T-shirts with the retail logo on the front and “Microsoft Store” written on the back. All the while they were trying to pump up the crowd for the opening. After the store opened, they were handing out black “Bing” T-shirts to visitors inside the store.

As the 10 a.m. opening time approached, up to 50 Microsoft employees in suits or casual business attire began lining up across from the store. They wore “ALL ACCESS” badges on lanyards or clipped to their clothing, took pictures and shook hands with each other. Some of the employees already had the small shopping bags that Microsoft later handed out to hold the concert ticket wristbands.

Among those spoted in front were Michael Forrest, a former Apple store manager, and George Blankenship, former V-P Retail Real Estate. Forrest is now Microsoft’s Sr. Director of Customer Experience, while Blankenship reportedly is a paid consultant for Microsoft.

Just before 10 a.m. Kevin Turner appeared in front of the store with 10 to 15 other executives in business suits. He thanked the crowd and community, acknowledged Mission Viejo mayor Frank Ury, and said Microsoft was into retail “for the long haul.”

He then made the second in a round of donations to the YMCA of Orange County and Goodwill Industries. At the Scottsdale (Ariz.) store opening last week, he made similar donations to those organizations there.

In this case, Microsoft gave $50,000 in cash and $1 million in software to the YMCA, and gave $50,000 in cash and $500,000 to Goodwill.

Just before Turner cut the red ribbon, there were about 280 persons in line, with perhaps another 200 spectators in front of the store. Local press reports of “more than 1,000 people” in front of the store waiting for the opening were inaccurate.

The Store

While the Microsoft stores may resemble the existing Apple stores in some measure, they lack an element that has been a critical for establishing Apple’s brand—quality. For every architectural element that Microsoft has duplicated from Apple’s stores, they have failed to copy the materials, craftsmanship and pride that go with them.

The similarities of the Microsoft store to what Apple has already accomplish is remarkable. The general layout of the store, the storefront, the lighting, floor and product displays are common between the two companies. Beyond that, there are extraordinary similarities: the employee name tags and their lanyards, the under-table bag dispensers and receipt printers, the Answers counter and its configuration, the use of mobile computers for POS, the children’s table, and the identical nature of Microsoft’s store services: extended warranty, personal shopping and training. Microsoft even has an on-line reservation system for its in-store service and  training.

One architectural difference is obvious: a line of support columns interrupts the interior, running from front-to-back just left of the centerline of the store. Such an interruption is something that Apple’s architects would not tolerate.

In a world where retail design has become a profession and industry, it’s difficult to understand how an independent retail designer could have arrived at the same store solution as Apple. In fact, thousands of retailers have sought out ways to distinguish themselves from competitors, hiring experts to design unique methods of displaying and selling their products. In this case, Microsoft’s solution appears to be Apple’s, too.

But despite the appearance, the depth is missing. There is no bead-blasted stainless steel on the storefront, only white-painted wallboard and glass. And that glass isn’t the expensive low-iron variety Apple uses to insure passersby see the store, not the glass.

There is no Italian stone or rich wood on the floor. The walls and ceiling are simply white-painted wood. The wood of the floor appears to be laminate, and wood on display tables and stools looks common and dull.

Does all this make a difference to the store visitor? It must, because retailers are willing to pay millions of dollars to create stores with distinction and quality, reflecting their brand.

The employees do use an advanced Samsung ultra-portable computer for point-of-sale duties (the Q1EX-71G?). The device is rather large when combined with a credit card reader. Staffers use a mini-sized Opticon barcode reader, linked to the Samsung with Bluetooth, and tethered to the employee by a retractable key-fob device.

The Surface devices are very interesting, but their abilities are not intuitive. The laptops are hooked up to the Internet for exploration, and the Xbox area is live with large-screen displays for playing.

Because the store was very crowded, it was impossible to determine if the store lay-out was optimum, and if customers can efficiently move throughout the store.

In the end, the store itself isn’t remarkable, and Microsoft is left mostly to sell and support hardware made by someone else.

This Attraction Cost Money

Despite the the $1,600,000 that Microsoft donated to community groups, the grand opening may have taken a bite out of the budgets of local school districts.

Microsoft handed out concert wristbands to the first 1,000 people who requested them at a back counter. By noon, employees were still handing out wristbands to mothers, grandmothers, some fathers and teens who asked for them. Two girls in the waiting line wore pink T-shirts they had customized with words to express their devotion to Bieber (pictured), including “#1 Fan” and “I (heart) Justin Bieber.” One girl hugged a pink binder decorated with cut-out magazine photos of Bieber.

During the pre-opening 3-1/2 hour wait, the store staff appeared in front of the store, at times dancing or leading the crowd in chants. As the opening grew nearer, television news videographers arrived. At one point a Microsoft employee teased an otherwise quiet group of teenage girls standing to the left of the door into screaming so the cameraman could tape their inauthentic excitement for the store.

There were many adults present who were simply there to obtain concert tickets for their child or grandchild.

However, several teens admitted to skipping school for the day to obtain the tickets and attend the 5 p.m. concert. Their absence at school could have cost the school district thousands of dollars.

California funding for local public schools includes a calculation of each student’s average daily attendance over the school year. Students with perfect attendance generate full payments from the state. Student who are absent reduce state payments by a percentage. For very large districts, even a five percent annual absence rate can substantially impact total funding, sometimes cutting tens of millions from the state funds.

The  Saddleback Valley Unified School District, where Mission Viejo children attend school, receives about $5,300 per student in annual funding, according to district records. Based on those figures, each one-day absence by a student costs the district about $30 in state funding. In this case, if 300 students skipped school to obtain Bieber concert tickets, the school district would have lost $9,000 in state funds.

The Similarities

When examined in detail, the Apple and Microsoft stores share many similarities. How could independent minds arrive at the same solution? On IFO’s zero to 100 scale of “Identicality,” the Microsoft stores score 97.

The stores hosted 45.9 million visitors during the last quarter. With an average of 262 stores open during the quarter, that means an average of 192 persons are visiting the each store every hour. That amount of traffic is huge and, as Sr. V-P Retail Ron Johnson often recounts, surpasses the old Gateway computer retail stores, which averaged just 250 visitors per week before they closed down in 2004.

When the Apple stores first opened in 2001, they were staffed with four job titles: Manager, Assistant Manager, Sales Associate and Genius. Since then, Apple has added various job positions to handle specialized duties, including Keyholder, Theater Manager, Telephone Operator, Personal Shopping Specialist, Keyholder, Business Specialist, Inventory Specialist and most recently the Concierge.

Now, the Specialist, Personal Shopping Specialist and Concierge positions will be merged into one title—Specialist. This person will receive training to perform all three job assignments, and may change duties daily as the store’s requirements demand. The company cites flexibility and better service to the customer as the reasons for the change.

Second, Apple has created the new position of Expert, a full-time position with a higher pay scale than the Specialist. This position will align with the Genius and Creative positions on the organization chart. According to insiders, there will be at least three Experts at each store, with many more at the high-profile stores. Again, this position was apparently dictated by the high store traffic and the opportunity to sell more products.

According to insiders, the Experts will have “exceptional product knowledge, be top performers in creating owners, and should be known in their stores for their leadership in the Red Zone (sales floor).” The position is being described as a career-level opportunity for those with exceptional skills and who appreciate converting visitors into Apple buyers.

The Genius, Creative and Inventory Specialist positions will not change under this new plan.

Lastly, Apple has swept away all of the store management titles, and has replaced them entirely:

• Market Manager becomes Market Leader
• Store Manager to Store Leader
• Sr. Assistant Store to  Senior Manager
• Assistant Manager to Manager

So far, the only explanation for the title changes is that, “It takes both great leaders and great managers to successfully run an Apple Store.” Also, there has been no description of how the job duties might differ after the titles change.

Apple has scheduled a November 15th “all hands” meeting to explain these changes and to provide additional information ahead of Black Friday, November 27th, the traditional start of the holiday shopping season.