Customers line up for grand opening of Apple's Grand Central store

2456

Comments

  • Reply 21 of 112
    Wow! Looks fan-tastic! There will be those that opine that it appears that the faithful are in "church". So be it.



    I found this article at ArsTechnica this morning to be the all to sad polar opposite:



    Microsoft brings the Genius Bar to the Web with Answer Desk

    Quote:

    By Peter Bright | Published about 15 hours ago



    Microsoft has quietly launched a new service to help Windows and Office users get the most out of their PCs. Answer Desk is an online version of the Answer Desks found in Microsoft's retail stores, which are in turn modeled on Apple's successful Genius Bars, providing users with personalized consulting on their computer problems.



    What a wild interpretation of what Apple's Genius Bars really ARE! ~~
  • Reply 22 of 112
    neo42neo42 Posts: 287member
    So what is the actual incentive of waiting outside for the store opening? Are there any purchase incentives at all? Giveaways?
  • Reply 23 of 112
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Neo42 View Post


    So what is the actual incentive of waiting outside for the store opening? Are there any purchase incentives at all? Giveaways?



    Probably not. That is the genius of the Apple brand that other retailers just can't wrap their head around, or get right.



    Insanely amazing, huh?
  • Reply 24 of 112
    iqatedoiqatedo Posts: 1,822member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Postulant View Post


    I hope Samsung doesn't see this.



    No you don't!
  • Reply 25 of 112
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by ConradJoe View Post




    They are the elite Apple fans. This will be a story that gets retold to the grandchildren on every family holiday.





    </sarcasm>





    Looks like a bunch of weirdos to me...



    Dude. You have an "enemies list." I imagine you plotting with Ehrlichman and Haldeman in the White House every time I see your signature. And they're the wierdos?
  • Reply 26 of 112
    paxmanpaxman Posts: 4,729member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Neo42 View Post


    So what is the actual incentive of waiting outside for the store opening? Are there any purchase incentives at all? Giveaways?



    Just enthusiasm, I guess. Maybe there are freebies expected but people love to visit Apple stores even if they are not buying and this one looks to be very special GCS is an amazing place with or without an Apple store.
  • Reply 27 of 112
    iqatedoiqatedo Posts: 1,822member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by SolipsismX View Post


    That has to be annoying for those commuting through GCT this morning.



    That shot has shortened the auditorium considerably! The crowds are all the more remarkable given the size of the main concourse!
  • Reply 28 of 112
    conradjoeconradjoe Posts: 1,887member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by SolipsismX View Post


    lines serve their purpose.



    Oh. OK. I guess that makes sense.
  • Reply 29 of 112
    solipsismxsolipsismx Posts: 19,566member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by JupiterOne View Post


    I understand the meaning of the word queer when used as an adjective, "Those people look queer", meaning odd or strange. But when used as a noun, "They are abnormal queers", it means a homosexual man.



    Queer can mean homosexual when used as an adjective or noun. My context does not imply any such sense of having an attraction to the same sex.
  • Reply 30 of 112
    conradjoeconradjoe Posts: 1,887member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by JupiterOne View Post




    For all his trollish-ness, I don't think ConradJoe ever said anything as offensive as this?





    It doesn't matter what I say. All that matters is what I am prejudged as likely to have said.



    Kind of like if a person of color were to make a good point in the old South - the content doesn't matter; the locals are welcome to abuse him no matter what.





  • Reply 31 of 112
    conradjoeconradjoe Posts: 1,887member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Flaneur View Post


    ConradJoe deserves to be mistranslated in any way possible,



    See? I'm a Nigger. So I deserve it.



  • Reply 32 of 112
    While I understand they would not all be on shift at once except perhaps for major launches the idea of having 300+ people waiting to serve you in a a one room store is pretty intense.



    The comment above about 1% per day. of 700,000 that is 7,000 a day. 14hr open time. 500 an hour. 125 per 15min. Seems plausible given the staff. I suppose the average spend would be hmm hmm hmm maybe $100. 50,000 an hour, 700,000 a day. Maybe $5million a week.



    Seems plausible, accounting that not all 7,000 customer would be buying, maybe genius or training to give $100 average spend.



    Fark, turnover of about 250million a year. So about 75 mill after COG landed, 30mil in staff, outgoings 20. 25mil clear. 10% margin.



    Hmm, pretty thin. Maybe it is a little higher. Maybe it is 20% due to higher avg spend or bit better COG landed margin



    Still, it is a pretty good billboard that reaches 700,000 people a day, pays its way and makes a margin.
  • Reply 33 of 112
    801801 Posts: 271member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Neo42 View Post


    So what is the actual incentive of waiting outside for the store opening? Are there any purchase incentives at all? Giveaways?



    Usually Apple gives away T shirts to the first hundred customers or so. They have the name of the shop on them. Check ebay for examples. Great Holiday gifts for the intelligentsia. Or for bragging rights for a pair of kids.
  • Reply 34 of 112
    conradjoeconradjoe Posts: 1,887member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by shadash View Post


    Dude. You have an "enemies list." I imagine you plotting with Ehrlichman and Haldeman in the White House every time I see your signature.



    They are not my enemies.



    But the Nixonesque reference is quite correct.



    Often I use complex or obscure references that go over most people's heads. I'm glad that somebody "gets it".
  • Reply 35 of 112
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by cy_starkman View Post


    While I understand they would not all be on shift at once except perhaps for major launches the idea of having 300+ people waiting to serve you in a a one room store is pretty intense.



    The comment above about 1% per day. of 700,000 that is 7,000 a day. 14hr open time. 500 an hour. 125 per 15min. Seems plausible given the staff. I suppose the average spend would be hmm hmm hmm maybe $100. 50,000 an hour, 700,000 a day. Maybe $5million a week.



    Seems plausible, accounting that not all 7,000 customer would be buying, maybe genius or training to give $100 average spend.



    Fark, turnover of about 250million a year. So about 75 mill after COG landed, 30mil in staff, outgoings 20. 25mil clear. 10% margin.



    Hmm, pretty thin. Maybe it is a little higher. Maybe it is 20% due to higher avg spend or bit better COG landed margin



    Still, it is a pretty good billboard that reaches 700,000 people a day, pays its way and makes a margin.



    http://www.asymco.com/2011/12/08/how...tore-employee/



    Horace just did a great analysis of earnings per employee at apple stores.
  • Reply 36 of 112
    flaneurflaneur Posts: 4,526member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by cy_starkman View Post


    . . . 10% margin.



    Hmm, pretty thin. Maybe it is a little higher. Maybe it is 20% due to higher avg spend or bit better COG landed margin



    Still, it is a pretty good billboard that reaches 700,000 people a day, pays its way and makes a margin.



    Good job. Do we get to know figures from individual stores? Probably only if they're unusually profitable, case by case.
  • Reply 37 of 112
    al_bundyal_bundy Posts: 1,525member
    that's more people than will buy the droid nexus something on the first day of release
  • Reply 38 of 112
    Let me guess: They're NOT there for free Black Eyed Peas tickets.
  • Reply 39 of 112
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by SolipsismX View Post


    He's just acting like a cynical prick as unusual. Personally, I don't get the desire to first into a new store but I certainly don't think they are abnormal queers the way ConradJoe does.



    If there was a new product launching that I felt would be hard to get ahold of I;d wait in a line. From bread to the iPad to simply having to use the bathroom lines serve their purpose.



    Quote:
    Originally Posted by SolipsismX View Post


    That has to be annoying for those commuting through GCT this morning.



    Quote:
    Originally Posted by paxman View Post


    But how amazing is that? All the products are available is several near by Apple stores yet crowds turn up for the unveiling of a new store. It is architecturally interesting, I agree, but this kind of enthusiasm must be the envy of the entire retail world. Impressive.



    Yes....



    We must excuse the queues!
  • Reply 40 of 112
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by ThePixelDoc View Post


    Wow! Looks fan-tastic! There will be those that opine that it appears that the faithful are in "church". So be it.



    I found this article at ArsTechnica this morning to be the all to sad polar opposite:



    Microsoft brings the Genius Bar to the Web with Answer Desk





    What a wild interpretation of what Apple's Genius Bars really ARE! ~~



    That is queer, isn't it?
Sign In or Register to comment.