![]() ![]() The store would also build up a culture around it through free seminars and community events hosted at the location. What’s more, returning Apple customers would receive free (or inexpensive) service from the Genius Bar in the form of questions answered, parts replaced, or computers repaired. All Apple Store visitors would be welcome to experiment with Apple hardware and software in the store. Whereas a product purchase at another retail outlet marked the end of the store’s relationship with the customer, in the Apple Store, the purchase would only be the beginning. Internally, he referred to this concept as the “Apple lifestyle.” Johnson recognized that a customer’s relationship with a Mac was a long-term and intimate one, with the Mac serving as both a tool and a companion. Ads focused on what customers could do with their Mac, whether it be to edit a digital movie, burn a CD, or organize their music collection. They could dedicate sections of the store for customers to actually use the products so they could see these different solutions in action.Īt the time, Apple’s marketing angle positioned the Macintosh as the “digital hub” of the home. He wondered how he could fill an entire retail space with only four product categories (which happened to be the iMac, iBook, Power Mac G4, and PowerBook at the time).Īfter a few false starts, he realized that Apple should focus on the overall experience of using the products and, most importantly, the solutions they can provide to the customer. When first tasked with creating an Apple Store experience from scratch, Johnson found himself confronted with a sparse, stripped down Apple product line that had been the victim Steve Jobs’ drastic (but necessary) pruning over the previous four years. It was Johnson who masterminded Apple’s retail plan. The following year, Apple hired Ron Johnson, a former Target marketing executive who transformed Target from a K-Mart clone into a trendy retail destination for those seeking inexpensive but well-designed housewares. In 1999, Apple added Millard “Mickey” Drexler, President and CEO of The Gap, to its Board of Directors to give the company a touch of seasoned retail experience. When the company decided it needed to expand into retail on its own, Steve Jobs looked to the outside and hired the best experts he could find to help the cause. Their locations were carefully planned, as Apple had invisibly divided the space into sections via understated signs hanging overhead.Īround the turn of the century, Apple had been plagued with a decade of bad retail experiences at the hands of others. Apple had laid out its products-colorful, translucent iMacs and Power Macs among them-on wall-length, bar-height tables and white, kidney-shaped platforms throughout the store. Inside, he found a spotless, well-lit space decorated with light wood, brushed steel, and crystal white glass. He had been waiting some six hours for the opportunity. History tells that a man named Chris Barylick (who has contributed as a writer to Macworld) was the first customer inside. The doors of the Virginia store opened around 10 a.m. ![]() In California, some 2600 miles away, hundreds of similarly-minded people lined up to enter the west coast’s first Apple Store, which was due to open later in the day. One visitor to the store, “I’ve never seen anything like this, here or at any mall for that matter.” “I have lived in this area for 17 years,” said ![]()
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |