Target confirms it will open 25 Apple store-within-a-store outlets this year
Target on Thursday confirmed that it plans to open 25 specialty stores dedicated to Apple products inside 25 of its existing retail locations.
AppleInsider exclusively reported last week that Target would open the new store-within-a-store locations at 25 larger Target stores this year. The retailer confirmed those exact details in a presentation in New York on Thursday, according to The New York Times.
The concept is called "The Shops at Target," and the dedicated Apple ministores coming to 25 Target locations will not be alone. The Minneapolis-based retailer has also partnered with Boston's Polka Dog Bakery and Miami's The Webster, among others, for its specialty shops.
Target has been selling Apple products for years, including the iPad, iPhone, and Apple's iPod lineup. Target does not currently offer any of Apple's Mac lineup, however, while Best Buy's Apple stores do sell Mac products.
The new Target mini-stores could pave the way for more products, like Macs or AirPort wireless routers, to become available. However, there has been no indication that the Apple stores at Target will offer a product selection as wide as Best Buy currently does.
Target has adorned its electronics sections with official Apple signage | Source: ifoAppleStore
"Stores-within-a-store, with dedicated floor space and signs and shelves designed by a brand, have been a popular strategy for a while," author Stephanie Clifford wrote for the Times. "Department stores have long had small boutiques for designers like Ralph Lauren or Chanel. J.C. Penney, a Target competitor, has made its stores-within-a-store — for Sephora, Call It Spring, MNG by Mango and other brands — a centerpiece of its strategy."
Comments
Also, the Apple Store would have dedicated staff using different point of sale terminals.
Not sure how I feel about that first part, but this? This is a must. We can't have Target idiots in the Mac section. I want employees on Apple's payroll managing the Mac part.
Target on Thursday confirmed that it plans to open 25 specialty stores dedicated to Apple products inside 25 of its existing retail locations.
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Soon Apple will the become the everyman choice! Walmart is next! (sarcasm)
Soon Apple will the become the everyman choice! Walmart is next! (sarcasm)
Uh... you DO know Apple already sells through WalMart, don't you? There's actually no reason why, if this works with Target, it would not work in any store with enough foot traffic.
Not sure how I feel about that first part, but this? This is a must. We can't have Target idiots in the Mac section. I want employees on Apple's payroll managing the Mac part.
Have you been to a Target store? Been to the Starbucks in the Targte store? Thye are NOT Starbucks employees....they are Target employees trained to Starbuck standards..... I don't see this changing for the Apple retail presence as well. Apple has a section in some Best Buy stores and they are not Apple employees but BB employees.... This will be no different as the template has been made to create a Apple presense in some large retail stores.
Target can benefit from the Apple Stores' cachet. A win for them, and ground gained for Apple, as long as Apple does it on their terms. (And I'd be surprised if it was any other way at this point. as another poster pointed out, this has been tried - and found wanting - before. But that was before Apple had the clout and retail savvy it has today. I just don't see them making the same mistakes again.)
Uh... you DO know Apple already sells through WalMart, don't you? There's actually no reason why, if this works with Target, it would not work in any store with enough foot traffic.
Yes...I know you can get iPods and iPads....but NOT iMacs and Macbook Pros, Macbooks and a good selection of accessories that a Apple/Mac section designed to look like a Apple store with a big Apple logo.......
Uh... you DO know Apple already sells through WalMart, don't you?
Not Macs.
Apple has a section in some Best Buy stores and they are not Apple employees but BB employees?
All the Best Buys near me have Apple employees manning the store-within-a-store.
Not sure how I feel about that first part, but this? This is a must. We can't have Target idiots in the Mac section. I want employees on Apple's payroll managing the Mac part.
There's no confirmation at this point that they will be selling Macs. It seems more likely it will be the same iPods and iPads with perhaps iPhones (if they are not already an iPhone selling store) and associated accessories like Airports, bluetooth keyboards etc. At least during this phase one.
Admin wise they will be Target employees on Targets payroll using the same inventory and pos systems etc. But they will be Apple certified as trained to sell in that area. Rather like in the Super stores that have a pharmacy and you can only dish the RX items if you are (in that case legally) certified to be there. Same game they do at Best Buy
All the Best Buys near me have Apple employees manning the store-within-a-store.
Apple certified and trained sure. Actual Apple employees on Apple's payroll, benefits etc unlikely. It doesn't benefit either side to have it that way.
Get a paycheck stub from one of those people and see what company is on it. I'll bet that it says Best Buy. Same as the Apple Certified Techs in the Geek Squad. They aren't Apple employees either, they are Best Buy.
That'd be awesome if the Apple Store within Target was treated like an entirely different country, like an embassy on foreign soil.
I was thinking about this yesterday. The problem with Best Buy, Fry's, et al. is that the retailer and their employees have no incentive to keep Apple's dedicated section stocked, clean, or functional.
In the Fry's I was in it looked like a small tornado had touched down only in the Apple related section. You make Apple lease and control space within a store then you get Apple's mindshare and popularity creating an anchor tenant within a store.
However, having thought the same you I don't think this is possible and/or feasible. Even the small and simple Starbuck's stations within other stores are not run by Starbuck employees but the main retailer.
Not Macs.
All the Best Buys near me have Apple employees manning the store-within-a-store.
Thye are NOT Apple employees. I have asked them specifically if they were BB employess or Apple employees. They have all said they work for BB but they have specific Apple training.......you should ask them again or their manager.
Thye are NOT Apple employees.
The guys with black shirts with Apple logos. Not Apple employees?
I have asked them specifically if they were BB employess or Apple employees. They have all said they work for BB
Same, minus the 'work for Best Buy' part. SOMEONE'S lying here.
That is all there is. No questions, no demos.
The guys with black shirts with Apple logos. Not Apple employees?
Same, minus the 'work for Best Buy' part. SOMEONE'S lying here.
yeah...someone is....
That is NOT what you said in your quote!
"All the Best Buys near me have Apple employees manning the store-within-a-store. "
Link to Wiki article.... http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apple_Store
"Apple has since re-established ties with major big box retailers like Best Buy, as these chains have considerably more geographical reach than the existing network of Apple Stores. The relationship with Best Buy calls for the company to send Apple Solutions Consultants (ASCs) to train Best Buy employees to be familiar with Apple's product lineup and how Macs work."
So maybe you saw a trainer.........giving you the benifit of doubt BUT the person working at the BB stores are not Apple employees....
Just like sometimes they have HP reps in the printer aisle or a Verizon person hanging out in the Mobile phone section.....they don't work for BB but are onsite occasionally to support their products.
Google it and you will become enlightened....
So maybe you saw a trainer.........giving you the benifit of doubt BUT the person working at the BB stores are not Apple employees....
Yep, that's who I saw. Black shirt guy that handles all the Mac questions. That makes sense, then.
IThe problem with Best Buy, Fry's, et al. is that the retailer and their employees have no incentive to keep Apple's dedicated section stocked, clean, or functional.
This is my gripe, too, and looking at the photo it already looks a mess. Clearly there is an upside for Apple but it pains me to see how Apple products look LESS good than the other products. When I see 10 - 15 tablets at BestBuy, all lined up, and then a separate section with a couple of dishevelled iPads on it I always wish they were mixed with the rest of them. Either that or Apple products need to be displayed with more love.