“Apple is known for its secrecy and elegance of design, and Germantown may be getting doses of both,” Thomas Bailey reports for The Commercial Appeal. “Officials in the Memphis suburb on Wednesday released to The Commercial Appeal the architectural rendering showing a stunning new retail store’ in Saddle Creek South at 2031 West Street.”
“Large sheets of seemingly unsupported glass seem to remove any barrier between exterior and interior. Long oak tables are displayed like wood sculptures. Changeable LED panels line the three interior walls with images for all – inside and out – to see [bold emphasis added – MDN Ed.],” Bailey reports. “The City of Germantown website offers the video of last week’s Design Review Commission meeting, in which the representative of some anonymous retailer and commissioners discuss at length the request to replace the existing brick facade with a glass-and-stone front that had commissioners saying ‘it’s cool’ and ‘very interesting’ and ‘I just want to make sure what I’m looking at.'”
“Apple is famous for keeping a tight wrap on any new products before the computer company is ready to reveal them. The same secrecy may apply to changes to how Apple designs its stores,” Bailey reports. “The anonymous store’s representative, Rick Millitello of Danville, California, told the commissioners that the store design is the ‘next generation of retail store that is rolling out.’ Germantown is among the first cities in the United States getting one, although some will open in Europe this fall, he said. ‘We’re excited to see the result of all the work we put into this design,’ Millitello said.”
Read more in the full article here.
MacDailyNews Take: To be clear: It’s the video walls where Apple is cribbing Microsoft’s design and the video walls alone, as basically everything else in Microsoft Retail Stores came directly from Apple Retail Stores.
Apple’s architectural rendering submitted on September 2, 2015 to the City of Germantown shows proposed new retail store in Saddle Creek South at 2031 West Street in Germantown, Tennessee:
Microsoft Retail Store in Scottsdale Fashion Square in Arizona, opened Oct. 22, 2009:
Of course, 12K displays that seamlessly span 25 feet are quite an upgrade and are exponentially more costly than a series of low-res panels that are continuously interrupted by bezels, but, credit where credit is due, the idea is virtually the same.
Hey, Microsoft did something first!*
*Even though they copied the Apple Retail Store concept and design, launched in 2001, nearly to the letter (except for the video walls).
SEE ALSO:
Microsoft retail store moving in one door over, Apple Retail Store moving on up – March 13, 2012
Microsoft retail store traffic pales in comparison to Apple’s – November 26, 2010
Microsoft retail fiasco to remodel? Apple files trademark for distinctive retail store layout – May 19, 2010
Microsoft Retail Stores have to resort to free concert tickets to generate opening day crowds – October 30, 2009
Notes from Microsoft’s first retail store: ‘Cheap, disorganized, and poorly-located’ (with photo) – October 23, 2009
Microsoft’s Windows 7 launch parties prove to be complete and utter failures – October 23, 2009
Microsoft’s Bizarro Universe: 8 years late; in garish color; featuring inferior products (w/ video) – October 22, 2009
Analyst expects Apple to have over 1,000 retail stores open worldwide within next few years – October 08, 2009
Microsoft attempting to poach Apple retail staff – September 22, 2009
Apple likely Fifth Avenue’s highest grossing retailer – August 24, 2009
Microsoft to open first two retail stores in Mission Viejo, California and Scottsdale, Arizona – July 29, 2009
Microsoft to mimic Apple (what else is new?) with ‘Guru Bars’ in retail stores – July 25, 2009
Ex-Apple VP a key figure in Microsoft’s retail initiative – July 20, 2009
Microsoft to have hard time matching the enthusiasm at Apple retail stores – July 18, 2009
Microsoft to open retail stores near Apple Retail Stores this fall – July 15, 2009
How Microsoft’s retail stores plan to compete with Apple’s – April 17, 2009
Microsoft Retail Stores: The dumbest idea ever – February 13, 2009
How Microsoft’s retail stores will differ from Apple’s – February 13, 2009
Microsoft’s new retail guru Porter has history of working against Apple – February 13, 2009
Microsoft’s last retail store attempt was a dismal failure – February 13, 2009
Microsoft hires Wal-Mart vet to oversee development of Microsoft Retail Stores – February 12, 2009
Stupid! The MS store still resembles the Apple Store that came before it. That clean plain simple look is all that matters and is the base of the store and that was copied by MS.
Sorry, but switching from static posters to digital displays is not really copying. The idea was already present in Apple’s stores – it was merely upgraded to add something that’s more dynamic.
i seriously doubt they looked at Microsoft’s store and said, we need that. More than likely they were looking at their own stores and said, wouldn’t it be nice if we didn’t have to constantly physically change the images on these walls?
Microsoft aped the entire look and “feel” of Apple’s stores. Without Apple’s aesthetics to base their design on, Microsoft’s stores would more than likely look like a stock room; aisles of shelves of products. There wouldn’t be any bare walls to hang any displays from.
Apple is copying McDonald’s or Tim Horton’s or Wendy’s or any other fast food chain that has seamless ( or bezelled ) video screens instead of menus.
Yes, yes, yes… This silliness goes on, and on and on.
They’re not copying anything from anyone… It’s the 21st century and since the early 80’s with the prescient Ridley Scott film, “Blade Runner” walls of digital screens have become common place. I hate the word copying when it’s so misused.
Steve Jobs has always said (and misquoted) that Picasso said, “Great artists steal”. And it is always used by morons who don’t understand the meaning.
It literally means… hacks copy… artists take an idea and make it their own.
People who don’t understand the difference are basically self-righteous morons with an agenda.
This is about the same as claims that the iPhone was copying other phone’s physical look or interface that had copied Apple in the first place. You simply can’t win.
I think every other store in that MicroSoft mall had large glass windows also. Not so much with freestanding stores. Of course, then you get trucks driving thru the glass to rob the store.
One piece yet everything else down to colored lanyards and T-shirted employees was all Apple original designs.
Give me a break – monitor displays on a wall is an original MS idea? Hardly. Same concept as Times Square, Vegas and every major ballpark. And Apple Stores did originally have a wall screen in the back. I did wonder why it was taking so long for Apple to do it around the store. It does have a certain marketing crassness with it, but what the hell. All of the worldwide store displays should be controlled in Cupertino.
At night, when there are no customers in the Apple Stores, they will look like the SmallSquishy stores. Still not exactly the same thing, though. 🙂
Only the first picture of a MS store is accurate — devoid of customers. MS must have photoshopped the customers into the other pictures of its stores.
Customers in a Microsoft store?
It’s amazing what you can do with Photoshop these days.
People really get paid to write these stupid idiotic stories? Man I want that job! 😛
MDN, 12k displays?
Where can I order one? (Willing to take out a second mortgage to get one ASAP.)
It’s the visual language, style, and philosophy of how Apple Stores operate that has made them a success. You may as well say that Apple copied every other retailer because they opened a store. This technology is not new but it’s only relatively recently that it’s been practical/cost effective/high quality enough to be used in a retail setting. Microsoft are only ahead in so much as their stores are newer because they’re so late to the game. Some stores have had large CRT monitors displaying stuff on the, are Microsoft copying them?
The look is to fool would be thieves that it is a MS store so they don’t smash and grab.
The article reminds me of an Aussie tech writer’s review article on Mac OS 8 or 9 in the mid/late ’90s. His take: The new Mac OS kinda reminds him of a mini- Window’s GUI.
Ignorance is bliss.
The danger of video walls: Too distracting.
Anything shown on a video wall has to either be localized to a specific part of the store for a specific purpose (classes, demos, Genius assistance) or what’s shown has to be SUBTLE. The focus is the Apple gear, not marketing crap puking at you from the walls.