The concept of the Apple store is still quite the same. Cook better get things going it seems like there is no "one more thing for years
Why does it need to change? The apple stores earn more per square foot than any other company, including Tiffany.
As for nothing new, we've seen complete new product lines (watch, homepod) that has earned Apple billions of dollars, as well as fairly significant changes to many of their other products.
If you're expecting to see another runaway success story like the iPod, iPad, and iPhone, that's likely not going to happen again no matter who is running Apple. It's hard to fault Tim Cook for not being able to top those products.
All I know is that being able to walk into an apple store and discuss the ins and outs of a possible move from being a Windows family to a Mac family was what made me a fan of all things apple. Heck, helpful, knowledgable people who all seemed to have 7 or more year old computers that were running the most current operating system. That was enough for us to take the leap. Still enjoy going to the store even if I don't have a plan of buying a thing.
I never heard whether Jobs addressed the intentional destruction of all the Apple dealers while he wasn't at Apple, but the Apple Stores made me think he was the one guy at Apple (Woz was already retired) that realized it was a terrible idea. When Apple cut all their dealers throats by changing their lineup to exclude small stores, including many other policies that favored big box stores, they had a 19% market share. Over 3,000 Apple Dealers went out of business over the next eighteen months. By the time the BizMarts and CompUSAs and others went out of business a few years later, Apple market share had sunk to just above 2%, and then Jobs came back. The climb from that suicidal series of decisions is why Jobs gets so much credit; it's one of the greatest turnarounds in business history.
I am still wary of anything Apple does, because I was one of those dealers. Small dealerships like mine preached Apple as much as sold it back then, and the reward for our loyalty was oblivion. Fighting the 'IBM compatible' fetish was hard work, and Apple without Jobs and Woz actually believed that just putting their computers on the shelves in bigger stores would sell more units.
It didn't, and almost all of those big box retailers are gone now. I knew it would happen, because the concept was fundamentally flawed, but corporate America is all about fads. When you see a board room you should picture a bunch of swooning teeny-boppers chasing Elvis, screaming and crying to get in on the latest thing. Apple is different today for one reason: they actually value excellence over faddish conformity. That is the legacy of the Steves, and so long as they keep to it they'll continue to do well.
Ever wonder why so much of the tech press hates Apple? That's it in a nutshell: Apple doesn't follow the goofy fads.
Steve Jobs was such a great presenter. Even here he manages to tell the idea behind the store very clearly, in a simple way, enthusiastic and comes across as symphatetic.
The old store concept seems more fun. The stores I see are sterile. Just wooded tables with products in a row. Nothing for kids, everything dedicated to show a bunch of products.
Wooden tables dedicated to showing a bunch of products is exactly what Jobs launched. What are you talking about?
Take off the rose colored glasses man. Nostalgia, it’s a helluva drug.
Steve Jobs was such a great presenter. Even here he manages to tell the idea behind the store very clearly, in a simple way, enthusiastic and comes across as symphatetic.
The old store concept seems more fun. The stores I see are sterile. Just wooded tables with products in a row. Nothing for kids, everything dedicated to show a bunch of products.
Wooden tables dedicated to showing a bunch of products is exactly what Jobs launched. What are you talking about?
Take off the rose colored glasses man. Nostalgia, it’s a helluva drug.
Watch the video, then walk into a local Apple Store and find out the difference. It has nothing to do with nostalgia. The brand I feel nostalgic about is Commodore, and that was the 80s and early 90s.
I gotta admit when this happened my instinct was the same as King’s, realizing that the concept wasn’t necessarily new or unique. All I thought was that brick & motor was going to die and so why invest in it? Glad I was wrong and humbled by it. I used to be in sales (back in the VCR and Hi Fi days) and now realize that sales people will have their favorites, but they will also favor pushing those items that make them more money. So why not have salespeople that know about, love, use and are enthused about one brand? I guess that’s the lesson.
Has Apple ever had to close one of their stores?
Other than extended maintenance (eg 5th Ave Cube) or moving to a larger nearby location (eg Lehigh Valley), I am not aware of any.
I have often wondered if Wall Street even appreciates how unique Apple retail stores are. They are really one of a kind. Microsoft has a few retail stores but they're nothing compared to Apple retail stores in terms of sales revenue and the number of stores.
I remember the days of shopping for Apple products at CompUSA, Ultimate Electronics, Best Buy. Back then Sears was selling Franklin computers which were blatant riff-off clones of the Apple ][. I remember finding out about ‘spiffs’ being paid by to sales people to push certain products over Apple. I actually overheard conversations between customers and sales clerk looking at Apple and then being lead over to the PC section. Small, independent dealers were a lottery. If your area had a knowledgeable and honest one you were okay. I had hoped for years Apple would break away from that retail model and when Jobs announced the Apple Store I was elated.
CompUSA, Ultimate Electronic and Sears are all gone. Only Best Buy remains and it seems to have a decent relationship these Days with Apple. Why? Because it has too as Apple is now a giant consumer electronics business that cannot be ignored and put on the back shelves.
The irony to those unfamiliar with my old company, NeXT Software Inc, is the look and feel of the Apple Store is a direct reflection of the style aesthetics of NeXT Inc, HQ. The same floors, the same minimalist design, all of it.
Steve was overlord in its design and the Apple Stores. I know I was there. Steve was overlord in redoing the Mac Cafe at Infinite Loop One. I know I was there. Steve was and always will be remembered for his meticulous eye to detail. The new campus is the last child of his creation and he left it in the hands of Ives to fulfill his vision to the last solar panel. If he had lived there would have been improved iterations in its final outcome to the day it opened. Nothing was ever just good enough. He knew design was as alive and forward moving as life itself.
There were hundreds of iterations on the Apple Store, with just slight variations from one to the next. The vast majority of people wouldn't notice the difference of iteration 10 to iteration 50, but if you know what your aim is you see it immediately. That was orchestrated by him. His goal was for the consumer to never be distracted while in the Apple Store. to quickly scan the store, take in the vast majority of it at once and know the next time you come in you know exactly where to go and fulfill your needs. In short, the exact opposite of a Brick n' Mortar store where they baffle you with distraction to hopefully get you to impulse buy and kill hours of your day doing nothing.
Microsoft's recent foray into Retail is not their first. I can remember going to (from memory) Natik Mall in Mass in the 1980's and seeing one of their stores just across the way from a DEC Store. The MS store had more employees than customers. That was repeated when I visited a Mall in Delaware in Sept 2015. The Apple Store was packed. The MS Store was a ghost town. I bought the 15in MBP that I'm still using today that day.
I've used that MBP to write at least a million words. No reloading of the OS like I had to do at regular intervals with my Windows systems.
MS can try to sell their Surface Devices to the public but there really is no USP or even Street Cred in using one. Apple cover all the bases when it comes to personal IT kit. Microsoft can't do that.
My issue with Apple Retail is that the stores get too crowded. It really needs to be re-organised. iPhone/iPad browsers in one part and the remainder in the rest.
[edit]
If anyone thinks that the headline reinforces the idea of an Apple Cult then TBH, you have not seen anything when compares to the Tesla Cult. The Fanboi's there are hardcore in their devotion.
Microsoft's recent foray into Retail is not their first. I can remember going to (from memory) Natik Mall in Mass in the 1980's and seeing one of their stores just across the way from a DEC Store.
Wait! There was a DEC store? Why? DEC briefly sold the Rainbow but I didn’t think it was around long enough to open a store and as far as I recall, they didn’t sell many. I can’t imagine many people going into a store to buy a mini-computer.
As an aside, I live in Maynard, more or less next door to the old mill that used to house the majority of DEC and its corporate offices so I’m kind of fascinated by this.
Wow its almost like Apple has done nothing for 17 years, the concept of the Apple store is still quite the same. Cook better get things going it seems like there is no "one more thing for years"
I took the day off from my job at CompUSA corporate HQ to go stand in line at the third Apple store to open, Apple Willow Bend in Plano, Texas. This store was designated as "R008" even though it was number 3 to open. I stood in line for about 3 hours. I wasn't buying a new Mac that day. Instead, I bought a really great USB scanner that I used until I got an Intel Mac 5 years later. The scanner driver wasn't compatible with Intel Macs. I started working at Apple Willow Bend in January 2003. I was later promoted to Mac Genius. I left in late 2007 to become an Apple consultant.
Great story.
I was working at Apple HQ at the time. I had friends in a department called "Corporate Adjustment" and they couldn't talk about it but they worked very closely with Steve Jobs. Finally, after watching the Apple Retail announcement, my friends in the team asked "does that answer your question on what we do?" lol Months later I applied for and got the job at Apple's 4th retail location, in Minnesota. One day after meeting who would be my manager, at the unopened and still in construction store, as I was leaving the mall, head of VP at the time, Ron Johnson was walking in! I eagerly introduced myself and he asked me if I knew how to get into the store, I explained to him I did! We ended up walking around the store for about ten minutes talking about the future of both Apple and their retail strategy. We kept in touch a few times after that but I left Apple retail in mid 2002.
Headlines like this are why people call Apple a cult...
1. Steve was at the helm, but thousands of hard-working creative people at Apple were responsible for the creation and roll out of the Apple Stores. Steve announced it, he even *helped* shape it, but to pretend he did it in a vacuum is an insult to all the people that worked their asses off to make it happen. 2. Not only did Apple not change the *face of retail*, they didn't even come up with a new idea. It is called a "boutique" and it was the norm across many different retail markets from perfume to high-end cars. Apple was the not even the firstto apply it to computers. They did it really well, but it was not a new idea.
You know, you can praise the things you like that Apple has done without using hyperbole every time.
Edit.. I stand corrected, Apple was not the first to apply it to computers. Macxpress brought up "Gateway Country Stores". Apple certainly did it better, and Gateway's lower margins just could not support an upscale shopping experience.
I am reminded of the Body Shop, which is not without controversy... At our local mall the Microsoft store seems almost a parody. I remember the push to discount tech years ago by certain company that shall remain nameless - any time I had a technical question the 'sales rep' would pick up the product box and start reading the print - macs seemed an enigma back in those days and an obvious retail dilemma. Part of the strategy seemed waiting to speak to a 'genius' for 'free' even with a appointment, essentially forcing the retail experience, perhaps not unlike the post Jobs tri-annual if unofficial macOS 'support'... All of the above being said, is simply looking at mid century modern design an obvious study ? To Apple's credit they were able to implement it globally, and does the dollar per cubic foot ratio allow an uncluttered spatial experience relatively uncommon to this day...? How many products garner $1K per purchase in the volume of a deck of cards other than perhaps jewelry, yet with unprecedented 'content', functional value and customer data leverage...?
Just like with schools, quality user experience does not depend on the building or the layout (although they can help). But, mostly, it depends on the staff. The main advantage of a brick and mortar shopping experience is the person-to-person interaction -- and that interaction depends mostly on the person, their knowledge and their commitment to helping the customer.
In my own experience in my local Apple Store, that experience took a BIG hit under Arhendts: staff was mostly sales people who often knew less than I did and often gave wrong and conflicting answers to questions -- if you asked the same question 5 times you got 5 different answers. And, related to that was that they were far more interested in promoting and defending Apple than they were in helping the customer -- which is the exact opposite of Steve's approach.
Speaking of Steve: I loved it in the video where he says: "I am not a genius, but I'll step behind this (genius) bar for a minute". That humility is the opposite of the arrogance I experienced in my Apple store under Arhendts.
But, since Arhendts was pushed out and Deirdre O'brien took over I have seen both a significant improvement in staff knowledge and training (the last time I was in there one even admitted and apologized for being wrong!) but also, and more importantly, a significant shift away from being company centric and, once again, becoming customer centric.
Thank you Deirdre!
Many here criticized how a personnel / HR person could possibly run Apple retail -- but she is improving the heart of brick and mortar retail: The Personnel.
Apple build a complete store inside a warehouse to simulate an actual store; that was certainly approved by Steve.
That isn't something that is typical, and it was certainly due to Ron Johnson being hired by Steve Jobs, and Steve Jobs certainly had a hand in the design decisions. No one pretends that Steve did it in a vacuum, but he was certainly in charge, so, as they say, the "buck" stopped with him.
Certainly, Apple stores are considered the highest earning by square foot of retail space, so yeah, Apple is a little bit beyond all of the "boutiques" that came before it.
What does that have to do with anything? The headline is bullshit, Apple stores did not *change the face of retail*. At all. Being more successful at using the age-old boutique style store does not make your version new or innovative.
The fact that Apple's retail success is so exceptional, and for such a long period of time, seems to bear out the truth in the headlines, yet you provide no examples of your own to prove that Apple is only "a little bit beyond all of the boutiques that came before it".
Not your best effort.
I read all of your previous posts.
I would beg to differ:
People say that Steve was a great presenter. He wasn't. He was just a proud father showing off his off-spring. The greatness was his pride and confidence in his product.
Largely the same is true of Apple Stores. They aren't great because of the curved glass or the layout. To paraphrase an old political phrase: "it's the product stupid". But, too, as I pointed out above, it is also the staff who have once again returned to being knowledgeable and customer focused.
The rest is just marketing hype and hoopla that mostly just attracts first timers. To get them to return you need substance -- and that derives from great product and great staff.
Well, I first went to the Apple Store in Palo Alto, which is store number 8 according to this (cool) site: https://applestorefronts.appspot.com I actually met Jobs there once, briefly.
But, my favorite was the original San Francisco store, which was about 2 blocks from my office and right at the top of the Muni (train system in SF) exit for my commute. So, I spent quite a bit of time there. And, of course that was the closest store to the Macworld conferences/expos as well, and those were just down the block too. It was a good/fortunate place to be in that time for a Mac fan.
I guess I've never been wealthy enough to shop 'boutiques' but I've never been anything quite like Apple Stores. It certainly was a new thing in the tech world, but given the setup and training in the flagship stores, I think they are/were special.
Many think the iMac, iPod or iPhone saved Apple and started its trek to where it is today. I disagree. Without the Stores (that predate the iPod) people would have remained unaware that there was something other than Windows. There was also OSX, followed by iOS. They were each easier to use and far more stable, but you had to experience them to see the difference. ...
I'm not sure I agree, as were there enough stores around quickly enough for that to be the big factor?
sdbryan said: ... I remember computer retail before the Apple Store. It was miserable and Apple products almost always got the short end of the stick. Based on the results, I think it is hard to overstate the importance of the decision that only Steve Jobs could make to go all in on building Apple retail.
Oh, absolutely, and it certainly played a role. I just wonder in terms of 'chicken and egg' in that I think Apple was gaining a lot of ground with Macs and iPod before the stores were enough and popular enough to have the impact. Maybe I'm wrong, though.
Steve Jobs was such a great presenter. Even here he manages to tell the idea behind the store very clearly, in a simple way, enthusiastic and comes across as symphatetic.
The old store concept seems more fun. The stores I see are sterile. Just wooded tables with products in a row. Nothing for kids, everything dedicated to show a bunch of products.
Agreed, and while I don't know much about it, I'd imagine this is due to the 'retail experts' getting in there and trying to 'optimize' things. The other problem is that 'back in the day' they employed real Apple enthusiasts and experts, whereas my last few visits were kind of the opposite experience (lot of people, politely, trying to sell things who weren't all that knowledgable).
Who knows, he might have cracked down on them. But, it is also quite possible given the scale of Apple now, things would have fallen apart on him. I'd LOVE to have back his vision and no-saying, but I'm glad Cook is there on the EXECUTION front. The problem is that ultimately, both are needed.
Up Next: Apple Cafes. Buy Starbucks and make it happen.
Well, given some happenings lately, this isn't too unrealistic a fear. I know Apple has enough cash to do some experimenting and breaking out of their original mold, but they haven't been able to do it w/o damaging their core, IMO.
I never heard whether Jobs addressed the intentional destruction of all the Apple dealers while he wasn't at Apple, but the Apple Stores made me think he was the one guy at Apple (Woz was already retired) that realized it was a terrible idea. When Apple cut all their dealers throats by changing their lineup to exclude small stores, including many other policies that favored big box stores, they had a 19% market share. Over 3,000 Apple Dealers went out of business over the next eighteen months. By the time the BizMarts and CompUSAs and others went out of business a few years later, Apple market share had sunk to just above 2%, and then Jobs came back. The climb from that suicidal series of decisions is why Jobs gets so much credit; it's one of the greatest turnarounds in business history.
I am still wary of anything Apple does, because I was one of those dealers. Small dealerships like mine preached Apple as much as sold it back then, and the reward for our loyalty was oblivion. Fighting the 'IBM compatible' fetish was hard work, and Apple without Jobs and Woz actually believed that just putting their computers on the shelves in bigger stores would sell more units.
It didn't, and almost all of those big box retailers are gone now. I knew it would happen, because the concept was fundamentally flawed, but corporate America is all about fads. When you see a board room you should picture a bunch of swooning teeny-boppers chasing Elvis, screaming and crying to get in on the latest thing. Apple is different today for one reason: they actually value excellence over faddish conformity. That is the legacy of the Steves, and so long as they keep to it they'll continue to do well.
Ever wonder why so much of the tech press hates Apple? That's it in a nutshell: Apple doesn't follow the goofy fads.
Very well said!
I sometimes find it kind of amazing businesses and the economy do as well as they do the way they are run. What really showed me that was working at a near Fortune 50 for almost a decade. I'd often be saying to myself, 'how in the hell can this company still be in business and paying me as much as they are?'
And, my ultimate fear (regarding Apple) is that they seemed to be headed back in that direction. Some of the more recent moves, are giving me faith again that all isn't lost.
But, absolutely, the 'business experts' nearly ran Apple into the ground, and Jobs was capable of thumbing his nose at that and doing things better (and actually selling that to those that mattered). That, IMO, was as big a part of Apple's success as their product excellence.
... His goal was for the consumer to never be distracted while in the Apple Store. to quickly scan the store, take in the vast majority of it at once and know the next time you come in you know exactly where to go and fulfill your needs. In short, the exact opposite of a Brick n' Mortar store where they baffle you with distraction to hopefully get you to impulse buy and kill hours of your day doing nothing.
Wish I could give you a 'like' and 'informative' but went for the latter!
Just like with schools, quality user experience does not depend on the building or the layout (although they can help). But, mostly, it depends on the staff. The main advantage of a brick and mortar shopping experience is the person-to-person interaction -- and that interaction depends mostly on the person, their knowledge and their commitment to helping the customer.
In my own experience in my local Apple Store, that experience took a BIG hit under Arhendts ...
But, since Arhendts was pushed out and Deirdre O'brien took over I have seen both a significant improvement ...
Yes! This is such a key point, and I absolutely agree on that shift (which is what I was trying to say above, not as effectively). I haven't been there for a few years, though, so haven't noticed that shift back. Great to hear!
GeorgeBMac said: People say that Steve was a great presenter. He wasn't. He was just a proud father showing off his off-spring. The greatness was his pride and confidence in his product.
Amen! Well, he was a good presenter too, but you could feel that enthusiasm, and to a level that is pretty hard to pretend (I suppose a few psychopaths have pulled it off). But, point taken, if you make stuff that great, you don't have to be a world-class presenter.
GeorgeBMac said: The rest is just marketing hype and hoopla that mostly just attracts first timers. To get them to return you need substance -- and that derives from great product and great staff.
I've seen that even in different stores in the same chain. For example, we HATED Home Depot when we lived in Vancouver, BC. But, when we lived in Prince George, BC, it was awesome. The difference? Well, in Prince George, they had hired a lot or retired contractors. They knew what you were talking about, what you needed, and sold you the right stuff (along with some good advice). In Vancouver, they sold you the wrong product that ended up costing you money fixing the bad advice they gave you.
Comments
As for nothing new, we've seen complete new product lines (watch, homepod) that has earned Apple billions of dollars, as well as fairly significant changes to many of their other products.
If you're expecting to see another runaway success story like the iPod, iPad, and iPhone, that's likely not going to happen again no matter who is running Apple. It's hard to fault Tim Cook for not being able to top those products.
Take off the rose colored glasses man. Nostalgia, it’s a helluva drug.
Other than extended maintenance (eg 5th Ave Cube) or moving to a larger nearby location (eg Lehigh Valley), I am not aware of any.
CompUSA, Ultimate Electronic and Sears are all gone. Only Best Buy remains and it seems to have a decent relationship these Days with Apple. Why? Because it has too as Apple is now a giant consumer electronics business that cannot be ignored and put on the back shelves.
Steve was overlord in its design and the Apple Stores. I know I was there. Steve was overlord in redoing the Mac Cafe at Infinite Loop One. I know I was there. Steve was and always will be remembered for his meticulous eye to detail. The new campus is the last child of his creation and he left it in the hands of Ives to fulfill his vision to the last solar panel. If he had lived there would have been improved iterations in its final outcome to the day it opened. Nothing was ever just good enough. He knew design was as alive and forward moving as life itself.
As an aside, I live in Maynard, more or less next door to the old mill that used to house the majority of DEC and its corporate offices so I’m kind of fascinated by this.
You are joking right?
I was working at Apple HQ at the time. I had friends in a department called "Corporate Adjustment" and they couldn't talk about it but they worked very closely with Steve Jobs. Finally, after watching the Apple Retail announcement, my friends in the team asked "does that answer your question on what we do?" lol Months later I applied for and got the job at Apple's 4th retail location, in Minnesota. One day after meeting who would be my manager, at the unopened and still in construction store, as I was leaving the mall, head of VP at the time, Ron Johnson was walking in! I eagerly introduced myself and he asked me if I knew how to get into the store, I explained to him I did! We ended up walking around the store for about ten minutes talking about the future of both Apple and their retail strategy. We kept in touch a few times after that but I left Apple retail in mid 2002.
I actually met Jobs there once, briefly.
But, my favorite was the original San Francisco store, which was about 2 blocks from my office and right at the top of the Muni (train system in SF) exit for my commute. So, I spent quite a bit of time there. And, of course that was the closest store to the Macworld conferences/expos as well, and those were just down the block too. It was a good/fortunate place to be in that time for a Mac fan.
I guess I've never been wealthy enough to shop 'boutiques' but I've never been anything quite like Apple Stores. It certainly was a new thing in the tech world, but given the setup and training in the flagship stores, I think they are/were special.
I'm not sure I agree, as were there enough stores around quickly enough for that to be the big factor?
Oh, absolutely, and it certainly played a role. I just wonder in terms of 'chicken and egg' in that I think Apple was gaining a lot of ground with Macs and iPod before the stores were enough and popular enough to have the impact. Maybe I'm wrong, though.
Agreed, and while I don't know much about it, I'd imagine this is due to the 'retail experts' getting in there and trying to 'optimize' things. The other problem is that 'back in the day' they employed real Apple enthusiasts and experts, whereas my last few visits were kind of the opposite experience (lot of people, politely, trying to sell things who weren't all that knowledgable).
Who knows, he might have cracked down on them. But, it is also quite possible given the scale of Apple now, things would have fallen apart on him. I'd LOVE to have back his vision and no-saying, but I'm glad Cook is there on the EXECUTION front. The problem is that ultimately, both are needed.
Well, given some happenings lately, this isn't too unrealistic a fear. I know Apple has enough cash to do some experimenting and breaking out of their original mold, but they haven't been able to do it w/o damaging their core, IMO.
Very well said!
I sometimes find it kind of amazing businesses and the economy do as well as they do the way they are run. What really showed me that was working at a near Fortune 50 for almost a decade. I'd often be saying to myself, 'how in the hell can this company still be in business and paying me as much as they are?'
And, my ultimate fear (regarding Apple) is that they seemed to be headed back in that direction. Some of the more recent moves, are giving me faith again that all isn't lost.
But, absolutely, the 'business experts' nearly ran Apple into the ground, and Jobs was capable of thumbing his nose at that and doing things better (and actually selling that to those that mattered). That, IMO, was as big a part of Apple's success as their product excellence.
Wish I could give you a 'like' and 'informative' but went for the latter!
Yes! This is such a key point, and I absolutely agree on that shift (which is what I was trying to say above, not as effectively). I haven't been there for a few years, though, so haven't noticed that shift back. Great to hear!
Amen! Well, he was a good presenter too, but you could feel that enthusiasm, and to a level that is pretty hard to pretend (I suppose a few psychopaths have pulled it off). But, point taken, if you make stuff that great, you don't have to be a world-class presenter.
I've seen that even in different stores in the same chain. For example, we HATED Home Depot when we lived in Vancouver, BC. But, when we lived in Prince George, BC, it was awesome. The difference? Well, in Prince George, they had hired a lot or retired contractors. They knew what you were talking about, what you needed, and sold you the right stuff (along with some good advice). In Vancouver, they sold you the wrong product that ended up costing you money fixing the bad advice they gave you.