Apple retail chief Angela Ahrendts on hand for Singapore store opening

AppleInsiderAppleInsider
Posted:
in General Discussion edited May 2017
As scheduled, Apple officially opened the doors to its first retail outlet in Singapore on Saturday local time, and SVP of Retail Angela Ahrendts was there to take in the festivities.




As seen above, Local radio DJs Justin Ang and Vernon A of "Muttons in the Morning" snapped a photo with Ahrendts at the Knightsbridge mall grand opening celebration. The radio hosts "spent some time" with Apple's head of retail, according to a post on Twitter, suggesting Ahrendts sat down for a short interview ahead of the store opening.

Separately, Ahrendts in a tweet on Friday sent a message of support to Apple employees working in Singapore. A photo accompanying the tweet shows Ahrendts standing among retail workers at the new Apple Orchard Road location.

"Huge thanks to the 2,800 Apple employees in Singapore! We have a long history here & are thrilled to open #AppleOrchardRoad tomorrow," Ahrendts said.

Though official numbers have yet to be released, it seems the grand opening drew quite the crowd. A number of customers and passersby posted pictures of a long line of people waiting to get inside Apple's first brick-and-mortar presence in the region.


Photo of Apple Orchard Road grand opening. | Source: Twitter user @wilfredphua


Apple offered a sneak peek into the Orchard Road flagship when it removed protective construction barriers from the store's two-story glass facade earlier this week. Media outlets were invited inside on Thursday.

Like other recent flagship outlets, the Knightsbridge mall location boasts high-flung lighted ceilings, familiar wooden display tables, tree planters and a large, centrally-located television screen. While large glass panels front the store, polished stone is the motif inside. A large half-spiral staircase includes special touches like a handrail carved directly into the stone wall, a design cue borrowed from Apple Park in Cupertino.

The store also features an accessories "avenue," or custom-built wood furniture displays, a "Genius Grove" and seating for "Today at Apple" sessions. Announced last month, Today at Apple is a new initiative consisting of more than 60 different sessions designed to inform and entertain Apple store customers. Ahrendts said the initiative's goal is to make Apple a communal gathering place, much like Starbucks.

On tap for Saturday's grand opening celebration is a live art session by local artist BINKO, photo walks, a photo lab with Ernest Goh and a live performance by pop star Sezairi.

Comments

  • Reply 1 of 14
    huckdaisy1huckdaisy1 Posts: 64member
    Let me guess, Its a store with glass walls, a bunch of tables inside, and a totally frustrating shopping experience for the customers.  Thanks Angie!
  • Reply 2 of 14
    macxpressmacxpress Posts: 5,808member
    Let me guess, Its a store with glass walls, a bunch of tables inside, and a totally frustrating shopping experience for the customers.  Thanks Angie!
    Who pissed in your Cheerios this morning? Nobody forces you go to there. When Apple gets millions of customers per day visiting they must be doing something right. To add to that, they're also still among the top retailers (if not still on top) in the world as far as revenue per square footage. 
    edited May 2017 StrangeDaysbaconstangSolimagman1979
  • Reply 3 of 14
    rotateleftbyterotateleftbyte Posts: 1,630member
    macxpress said:
    Let me guess, Its a store with glass walls, a bunch of tables inside, and a totally frustrating shopping experience for the customers.  Thanks Angie!
    Who pissed in your Cheerios this morning? Nobody forces you go to there. When Apple gets millions of customers per day visiting they must be doing something right. To add to that, they're also still among the top retailers (if not still on top) in the world as far as revenue per square footage. 
    There does seem to be a number of commetators who don't like Angela A for some reason or another.
    I think she is doing a decent job but what do I know eh? SFA that's what
    Soliireland
  • Reply 4 of 14
    macxpressmacxpress Posts: 5,808member
    rotateleftbyte said:
    macxpress said:
    Let me guess, Its a store with glass walls, a bunch of tables inside, and a totally frustrating shopping experience for the customers.  Thanks Angie!
    Who pissed in your Cheerios this morning? Nobody forces you go to there. When Apple gets millions of customers per day visiting they must be doing something right. To add to that, they're also still among the top retailers (if not still on top) in the world as far as revenue per square footage. 
    There does seem to be a number of commetators who don't like Angela A for some reason or another.
    I think she is doing a decent job but what do I know eh? SFA that's what
    I think she's doing a great job to be honest. I think some people don't like her because she's a woman. Same reason why some people don't like Tim Cook because he's gay. They may not ever state this, but in the back of their mind this is their view. 
    baconstangmagman1979
  • Reply 5 of 14
    StrangeDaysStrangeDays Posts: 12,876member
    huckdaisy1 said:
    Let me guess, Its a store with glass walls, a bunch of tables inside, and a totally frustrating shopping experience for the customers.  Thanks Angie!
    How could it be frustrating to pluck an item off the shelf, scan it yourself, then walk out? Shopping at an Apple store is super frictionless. Even when I bought a new MBP all I had to do was grab a guy who then checked me out. Beats standing in line any day of the week. 
    baconstangSolimagman1979pscooter63macxpresssteveaujony0fastasleep
  • Reply 6 of 14
    StrangeDaysStrangeDays Posts: 12,876member

    rotateleftbyte said:
    macxpress said:
    Let me guess, Its a store with glass walls, a bunch of tables inside, and a totally frustrating shopping experience for the customers.  Thanks Angie!
    Who pissed in your Cheerios this morning? Nobody forces you go to there. When Apple gets millions of customers per day visiting they must be doing something right. To add to that, they're also still among the top retailers (if not still on top) in the world as far as revenue per square footage. 
    There does seem to be a number of commetators who don't like Angela A for some reason or another.
    Yes, I wonder what it is. 
    magman1979
  • Reply 7 of 14
    SoliSoli Posts: 10,035member
    Let me guess, Its a store with glass walls, a bunch of tables inside, and a totally frustrating shopping experience for the customers.  Thanks Angie!
    I'm willing to give you the benefit of the doubt. Why do find Apple Stores such a "frustrating shopping experience" since Ahrendts was hired and that you can attribute directly to her?
    edited May 2017 irelandpscooter63
  • Reply 8 of 14
    magman1979magman1979 Posts: 1,293member
    huckdaisy1 said:
    Let me guess, Its a store with glass walls, a bunch of tables inside, and a totally frustrating shopping experience for the customers.  Thanks Angie!
    Having been a customer at multiple Apple stores up in Canada, and a few in the North West of the US, for MANY years, I can tell you with absolute conviction, you and your comment are full of bullcrap, as the shopping experience and convenience at an Apple Store steam roll all other store experiences, BAR NONE!

    I smell yet another damned troll in our midst!
  • Reply 9 of 14
    irelandireland Posts: 17,798member
    On hand. On tap.

    Really?
  • Reply 10 of 14
    kevin keekevin kee Posts: 1,289member
    The Singaporean are very high tech and they love Apple products, so it is not surprising that a high number of crowd turned up for their first official Apple Store. In fact they have been waiting for this moment for as long as I could remember. There are a lot of Samsung stores but none attracted crowd like Apple. Wha5 surprised me, there are also a lot of people from neighbouring countries flied in just to attend this.
  • Reply 11 of 14
    Rayz2016Rayz2016 Posts: 6,957member
    StrangeDays said:

    rotateleftbyte said:
    macxpress said:
    Let me guess, Its a store with glass walls, a bunch of tables inside, and a totally frustrating shopping experience for the customers.  Thanks Angie!
    Who pissed in your Cheerios this morning? Nobody forces you go to there. When Apple gets millions of customers per day visiting they must be doing something right. To add to that, they're also still among the top retailers (if not still on top) in the world as far as revenue per square footage. 
    There does seem to be a number of commetators who don't like Angela A for some reason or another.
    Yes, I wonder what it is. 
    Can't imagine. 
  • Reply 12 of 14
    Rayz2016Rayz2016 Posts: 6,957member

    huckdaisy1 said:
    Let me guess, Its a store with glass walls, a bunch of tables inside, and a totally frustrating shopping experience for the customers.  Thanks Angie!
    You're standing in a Burger King. The Apple Store is six blocks east. 
    Solipscooter63fastasleep
  • Reply 13 of 14
    macxpressmacxpress Posts: 5,808member
    Soli said:
    Let me guess, Its a store with glass walls, a bunch of tables inside, and a totally frustrating shopping experience for the customers.  Thanks Angie!
    I'm willing to give you the benefit of the doubt. Why do find Apple Stores such a "frustrating shopping experience" since Ahrendts was hired and that you can attribute directly to her?
    We'll never know...he's too much of a coward to come back and explain. 
    Soli
  • Reply 14 of 14
    sflocalsflocal Posts: 6,093member
    huckdaisy1 said:
    Let me guess, Its a store with glass walls, a bunch of tables inside, and a totally frustrating shopping experience for the customers.  Thanks Angie!
    I see that interacting with humans is something that scares you.  How often do you venture outside?
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