The mood at the Richmond Centre shopping mall was buoyant on Saturday, and not just because the sun was shining. No, the close to 400 people lined up outside the mall would have been there even had the rain – which was forecast – been torrential.

They were there for the grand opening of another Apple Store.

Michael Chira was first in line, having queued up at 6 p.m. on Friday night (September 10). He and many others were there to get a new iPhone 4. The devices have been in short supply since they became available in Canada on July 30.

The retail location, on No. 3 Road in Richmond and at the south end of the mall, is the 18th Apple Store in Canada. Earlier on Saturday, the 17th location opened in Newmarket, Ontario. Apple Canada representative Tara Hendela said between 500 and 600 people lined up for that event.

Nooshin Toloui, who is in charge of Apple stores in Western Canada, and who was on hand to open the Lower Mainland’s first Apple Store in 2008, walked media through the new location prior to opening.

“It’s exciting to see growth in Canada,” she said. She went on to explain that Apple’s retail stores are a “place for customers to come and play with the merchandise”. All the devices in the store, from computers to iPods, iPads, and iPhones, are in working order and are preloaded with content so customers can get hands-on and play music, watch movies, and even try out the latest killer feature for new iPhones and iPod Touches: FaceTime.

As with other Apple stores, the Richmond location is also a hub for learning and support, with the Genius Bar, public workshops, and the “one-to-one” program, which for an annual fee of $100 gives customers a year of personal training from one of the Apple Store “creatives”.

Part of the Apple Store grand opening program is for the employees to cheer the masses who have assembled, and 30 minutes before the doors opened, the blue-shirted Apple staff ran circles around the new customers, cheering, clapping, and throwing high-fives.

Toloui told me that every store is unique in its own way, but she expects the Richmond location to be distinguished by its staff and customers. Although she’s been with Apple for more than six years, and has opened more than a handful of stores, she’s still excited.

“I love what I do, I love the people I work with, I love the customers that come into the store,” she said. “I wouldn’t trade this for anything.”

Cross-posted at the Georgia Straight