In Atlanta, there was a little stand where you could go to use the net. I had my Pismo with me, but the batteries were run down. So I bring it in, and ask could I charge it. He says sure, it's $1 for 15 minutes, it's up to you how you use it. He even finds me a UK/US plug converter. Anyhow, he says I can use the net as well, and offers me a phone line, but he says I'll have to pay for the international call. Then he sees I have a Mac, and says "Oh, right, no problem then" and offers me an ethernet cable instead.
Anyhow, if Apple had a place like that, with staff like the guy I met (Mac enthusiasts), and everything Mac branded, then it'd be really good for the brand image. They don't have to sell anything much except the net service, just make it a nice environment and charge entry
Apple really should look at international stores, particularly in major cosmopolitan centers throughout Europe, UK, an Aussie Store and certainly a Tokyo, Japan Store.
I'd say London, Rome, Paris, Milano, Frankfurt, Brussels, Helsinki, etc etc... One or two stores per country max, but a good distribution into the major urban centers/tourist areas.
In Asia, that definitely means Tokyo and Seoul and maybe Singapore too. Canada (which despite the crappy exchange has a pretty big mac community ought to have a least 2 stores Toronto and Vancouver (both cheaper Canadian alternative destinations for US film and TV studios).
Anyway, that's what I would do with Apple Stores as there is surely a market for 20-30 stores around the world (outside of the USA).
<strong>At San Francisco international airport there are 5-star restaurants and other classy/expensive stores. Why not an apple store? It would fit in.
(The phrase "Why not an apple store" is to be taken as a rhetorical question. I read your posts.) </strong><hr></blockquote>
And some of them are closing down. I have never been a patron at any of those stores or restaurants either. Between being buttraped for short-term parking and waiting for public transit to actually hit SFO and having to sit in traffic to get there, I don't see the point. Besides consumables and small items are not comparable to hundred or thousand dollar items. I could see how a luggage store might fit in, but not a computer store.
I actually think the Airport idea to be a good one, if focused on the large intl airports. Just think, airports have a large, captive, relatively affluent customer base.
I don't think that people would drive in from the suburbs to shop there, but thats ok.
The design posted before looked fine to me. You could charge a rate for people to surf the web on one of the imacs (of course let .mac subscribers surf the first 15min for free).
Don't sell imacs or powermacs in the store, but have some i & ti-books for immediate purchase as well as pre charged ipods(with some music already on them maybe). On second thought maybe, for intl visitors, allow people to have desktop models delivered to the airstore for pickup that were ordered via the apple website.
I'm totally against the store/selling idea. Too much hassle, isn't practical, a longshot on actual success, etc. Nobody is going to - in addition to all the crap that come with travel - worry about laying out thousands of dollars on a purchase, lugging it around, worrying about it getting to where it's going, etc.
A true store approach WOULD fail, and is a bad idea.
But I STILL think an Internet-accessing bar could do well.
Not BECAUSE it's Apple and they have some sort of magic. It could be anyone. People just want to surf, check mail, kill time, etc.
If Microsoft did this and outfitted the bars with a bank of Dells, you don't think it would go over well?
Of course it would. It would be a big, positive story in the tech and financial press. Wired and other magazines would write about it. And many people here at AI would go "DAMMIT, why didn't Apple think of this and do something like this?!?!"
So why couldn't Apple do it with a bank of iMacs?
No store, no stock, no selling, etc. Just simple "pay to surf" set-up.
The problem with an internet cafe is maintenance. Airports = way too much traffic, people with dirty hands, drinks, food.
Apple would have to try it with its middle sized Apple Stores first, which I suspect is what they might do. Apple put its first crop of stores in pretty glamorous locations. The new stores will almost exclusively be the 40% reduced sized kind. The old stores could very possibly be redesigned to add drinks/snacks...with an Apple touch. It would be a nice way to get more traffic into the stores since Apple has basically found a way to put all the contents of those stores into a space 60% the size. The rest free space could be used for small tables and an espresso bar or something.
But there's is no way Apple would dare try anything like putting internet cafes in AirPorts. For one thing, they wouldn't lure repeat customers really. I don't know about you, but I have only been traveled by plane once (round trip) this year.
There's basically no return on having an internet cafe in an AirPort with nothing else to sell. At least within a real Apple Store, they might buy something. And like I said, Apple has successfully downsized the store...they might decide to squeeze more stuff into the old stores with a reconfiguration.
Putting anything more than kiosks in airports is still a terrible idea. Even kiosks don't sound very tangible right now.
I don't think the idea is bad. But the main focus seems as if it to entertain people in airports during their down time. Of course this would be kind of like a spend a dollar to get two later thing where the store would litterally take loss after loss. It would be a nice courtesy and may increase business if you could demo stuff and order it for delivery when you get home or pick up an ipod before you get on the plane. Unfortunately Apple is not interested in providing a courtesy that takes a loss since they just made their .mac email $99 a year. I'll bet my retirement money that the email servers were cheaper to run than just one airport store would be. Any takers?
<strong>The design posted before looked fine to me. You could charge a rate for people to surf the web on one of the imacs (of course let .mac subscribers surf the first 15min for free).</strong><hr></blockquote>
actually, the whole session could be free... or maybe a % (50%?) discount on the whole thing... why not? they are already paying $99 a year.... and it could be touted as a new "feature" for all of the .mac supscribers... i mean you have iBackup, iCal and use of iCafés throughout airports all over the world...
Good idea.... but euegene is right... think of the overhead... it would be $$$$---much more then just billboards, or a much better TV-ad campaign that actually showed people using computers... ( <img src="graemlins/oyvey.gif" border="0" alt="[No]" /> )... <img src="graemlins/hmmm.gif" border="0" alt="[Hmmm]" />
I think if they put an Apple Store, about 30 percent of the size : with fewer software titles, ditch the KIDS area, KEEP the Genius Bar (for people who are having problems with their macs before they go on the plane), Also, ditch peripherals, NO one is going to buy a printer there
This would not be a money making venture but a "Showing off what Apple" has venture <img src="graemlins/smokin.gif" border="0" alt="[Chilling]" />
I'd much prefer to see a full battery of apple stores in every state, etc, and then the nice international distribution- you know, Ã* la any good fashion house-
paris london new york tokyo los angeles rome etc.
hit the international market before something so trivial as the airport market.
What about a simple portable Mac stand with an iMac and Airport and a laptop or two to allow people to experience Apple's products. Let them check their eMails, do some light surfing, all for listening to a low key presentation on Mac products from the MarketSource PowerRep running it.
Most of those guys lost their jobs to cutting back on the program when Apple Solutions Consultants went into CompUSA stores.
<strong>... I'd much prefer to see a full battery of apple stores in every state, etc, and then the nice international distribution- you know, Ã* la any good fashion house-
paris london new york tokyo los angeles rome etc ...
</strong><hr></blockquote>
My point exactly. And there's no need to wait untill the whole US is covered. Toronto, Vancouver, Montreal, and Calgary-Edmonton would all sell very well (good creative communities in each of those centers)
Same with London, Paris, Rome, Milano etc etc... They don't to carpet bomb Europe with stores, but one outlet in each of the major cities is a good way to start puching the brand throughout the world (where, let's face it, Apple is lucky to have even 2% of the market)
One only needs to look at th sucess of the Sony store in Asia to know that Tokyo, Singapore, and Soeul are all good Asian destinations. They don't have to stick to just Japan, but if not all of Asia, thn forget the other two and just stick to Tokyo for now. Sony has 30% market-share in Japan, Apple laptops do very well there, young Japanese punters would probably pilgrimage from all ovr Japan to go to an Apple store Tokyo.
Comments
Anyhow, if Apple had a place like that, with staff like the guy I met (Mac enthusiasts), and everything Mac branded, then it'd be really good for the brand image. They don't have to sell anything much except the net service, just make it a nice environment and charge entry
Amorya
(The phrase "Why not an apple store" is to be taken as a rhetorical question. I read your posts.)
I'd say London, Rome, Paris, Milano, Frankfurt, Brussels, Helsinki, etc etc... One or two stores per country max, but a good distribution into the major urban centers/tourist areas.
In Asia, that definitely means Tokyo and Seoul and maybe Singapore too. Canada (which despite the crappy exchange has a pretty big mac community ought to have a least 2 stores Toronto and Vancouver (both cheaper Canadian alternative destinations for US film and TV studios).
Anyway, that's what I would do with Apple Stores as there is surely a market for 20-30 stores around the world (outside of the USA).
<strong>At San Francisco international airport there are 5-star restaurants and other classy/expensive stores. Why not an apple store? It would fit in.
(The phrase "Why not an apple store" is to be taken as a rhetorical question. I read your posts.)
And some of them are closing down. I have never been a patron at any of those stores or restaurants either. Between being buttraped for short-term parking and waiting for public transit to actually hit SFO and having to sit in traffic to get there, I don't see the point. Besides consumables and small items are not comparable to hundred or thousand dollar items. I could see how a luggage store might fit in, but not a computer store.
I don't think that people would drive in from the suburbs to shop there, but thats ok.
The design posted before looked fine to me. You could charge a rate for people to surf the web on one of the imacs (of course let .mac subscribers surf the first 15min for free).
Don't sell imacs or powermacs in the store, but have some i & ti-books for immediate purchase as well as pre charged ipods(with some music already on them maybe). On second thought maybe, for intl visitors, allow people to have desktop models delivered to the airstore for pickup that were ordered via the apple website.
I think the idea could fly (no pun intended)
A true store approach WOULD fail, and is a bad idea.
But I STILL think an Internet-accessing bar could do well.
Not BECAUSE it's Apple and they have some sort of magic. It could be anyone. People just want to surf, check mail, kill time, etc.
If Microsoft did this and outfitted the bars with a bank of Dells, you don't think it would go over well?
Of course it would. It would be a big, positive story in the tech and financial press. Wired and other magazines would write about it. And many people here at AI would go "DAMMIT, why didn't Apple think of this and do something like this?!?!"
So why couldn't Apple do it with a bank of iMacs?
No store, no stock, no selling, etc. Just simple "pay to surf" set-up.
Apple would have to try it with its middle sized Apple Stores first, which I suspect is what they might do. Apple put its first crop of stores in pretty glamorous locations. The new stores will almost exclusively be the 40% reduced sized kind. The old stores could very possibly be redesigned to add drinks/snacks...with an Apple touch. It would be a nice way to get more traffic into the stores since Apple has basically found a way to put all the contents of those stores into a space 60% the size. The rest free space could be used for small tables and an espresso bar or something.
But there's is no way Apple would dare try anything like putting internet cafes in AirPorts. For one thing, they wouldn't lure repeat customers really. I don't know about you, but I have only been traveled by plane once (round trip) this year.
There's basically no return on having an internet cafe in an AirPort with nothing else to sell. At least within a real Apple Store, they might buy something. And like I said, Apple has successfully downsized the store...they might decide to squeeze more stuff into the old stores with a reconfiguration.
Putting anything more than kiosks in airports is still a terrible idea. Even kiosks don't sound very tangible right now.
<strong>Damn I'm envisioning something really nice. Wish I could make it for everyone to see.
May I recommend <a href="http://www.omnigroup.com/applications/omnigraffle/content.html"; target="_blank">OmniGraffle</a>.
Just warn me which major corporations you take control of. I'll dump my stock immediately.
<strong>The design posted before looked fine to me. You could charge a rate for people to surf the web on one of the imacs (of course let .mac subscribers surf the first 15min for free).</strong><hr></blockquote>
actually, the whole session could be free... or maybe a % (50%?) discount on the whole thing... why not? they are already paying $99 a year.... and it could be touted as a new "feature" for all of the .mac supscribers... i mean you have iBackup, iCal and use of iCafés throughout airports all over the world...
Good idea.... but euegene is right... think of the overhead... it would be $$$$---much more then just billboards, or a much better TV-ad campaign that actually showed people using computers... ( <img src="graemlins/oyvey.gif" border="0" alt="[No]" /> )... <img src="graemlins/hmmm.gif" border="0" alt="[Hmmm]" />
<strong>I hope none of you ever become CEOs as powerful as Jobs. Jobs makes mistakes, but...
Just warn me which major corporations you take control of. I'll dump my stock immediately.</strong><hr></blockquote>
Ever the optimist. Don't worry, I'd let you know immediately.
This would not be a money making venture but a "Showing off what Apple" has venture <img src="graemlins/smokin.gif" border="0" alt="[Chilling]" />
investment in an airport store = $$$$$$
profit returned = 0.
I'd much prefer to see a full battery of apple stores in every state, etc, and then the nice international distribution- you know, Ã* la any good fashion house-
paris london new york tokyo los angeles rome etc.
hit the international market before something so trivial as the airport market.
Most of those guys lost their jobs to cutting back on the program when Apple Solutions Consultants went into CompUSA stores.
<strong>... I'd much prefer to see a full battery of apple stores in every state, etc, and then the nice international distribution- you know, Ã* la any good fashion house-
paris london new york tokyo los angeles rome etc ...
</strong><hr></blockquote>
My point exactly. And there's no need to wait untill the whole US is covered. Toronto, Vancouver, Montreal, and Calgary-Edmonton would all sell very well (good creative communities in each of those centers)
Same with London, Paris, Rome, Milano etc etc... They don't to carpet bomb Europe with stores, but one outlet in each of the major cities is a good way to start puching the brand throughout the world (where, let's face it, Apple is lucky to have even 2% of the market)
One only needs to look at th sucess of the Sony store in Asia to know that Tokyo, Singapore, and Soeul are all good Asian destinations. They don't have to stick to just Japan, but if not all of Asia, thn forget the other two and just stick to Tokyo for now. Sony has 30% market-share in Japan, Apple laptops do very well there, young Japanese punters would probably pilgrimage from all ovr Japan to go to an Apple store Tokyo.