“Four years ago, I took my kids to Amsterdam. After a long day of touring museums and canals, they started to whine. Then I hit upon the perfect bribe: look, there’s the Apple store,” Brooke Masters reports for The Financial Times. “After half an hour of playing with iPads, iMacs and iPhones, they were all smiles as we walked back to the hotel.”
“Their enthusiasm helps illustrate why Apple stores are generally considered the world’s most successful,” Masters reports. “Their glass walls and wooden tables full of gadgets generate far more sales per square foot than any big retail competitor.”
“This brings us to Thursday’s launch of Angela Ahrendts’ new vision for the company’s retail outlets,” Masters reports. “The former Burberry chief executive, who was given a stock grant worth up to $68m on her arrival at the tech group, has spent the past two years rethinking its offering as its product range changes. The result, unveiled in San Francisco on the 15th anniversary of the first Apple store opening, will be rolled out across many of the group’s 400 stores in 18 countries.”
“Mostly, her vision seems to involve even bigger glass doors and lots of plants. Every flagship store will have outdoor space — in San Francisco, the greenery-lined square will feature free WiFi and acoustic musicians on weekends. The Genius Bar, where customers go for help with technical issues, has been replaced by a Genius Grove stocked with trees and more space for people to sit while they wait,” Masters reports. “The jargon is a bit sickening, but this probably reflects a sensible effort by the company to broaden its offerings with revenue from iPhones falling.”
Read more in the full article here.
MacDailyNews Take: Revenue from iPhone is not falling, save for one “tough compare” quarter pitting a non-must-have iPhone 6s (the way-past-its-prime idea of off-year “S” models must die) vs. the blockbuster record sales of iPhone 6.
As for the redesigned retail stores and their stolen-from-80s-mall-concourses potted trees: Meh.
“Genius Grove?” Seriously? (“Hey, how ’bout ‘Genius Grotto?’ Nah, too Playboy. ‘Genius Oasis?’ Nope, too, uh, bandish. Alright, let’s go with ‘grove’ because ‘genius’ also starts with a ‘g’ and because, you know: Trees.”) We’d hate to see Apple’s full list of rejected naming ideas.
SEE ALSO:
Apple’s new San Francisco retail store showcases Jony Ive’s design vision – May 20, 2016
Angela Ahrendts brings luxury to Apple’s flagship stores – May 19, 2016
Apple’s new Union Square store highlights new retail elements, including ‘Genius Grove,’ ‘The Forum,’ and more – May 19, 2016
They need to put shirtless models at the entrance and blast house music and spray cologne everywhere. That will bring in the customers!
Blouse and bra-less would be my preference.
Abercrimbus & Fang do this tactic, and they are the coolest store in the whole of mall
it is hard to conceive tim cook recruiting a burberry exec as decorator in chief, speaks volumes about cook’s head in the cloud (no pun intended), elitist nouveau riche management style.
I personally know many apple geniuses and the hope ms Ahrendts would fix deep morale and other issues with retail personnel, not so, she focuses only on rearranging the deck chairs with head in sand, coordinating Ive’s demands.
also why in the world is Ive involved in retail stores at all (something he dreams about as he is chauffeured to work each day??) instead of visioning apple design for next 1000 years…
strange workings.
People keep saying the stores needed a refresh. Now they’re getting one and people are complaining. Apparently unlike Masters, I go to the Apple store for one of three reasons, to look at the product before making a final decision to buy it, to actually buy it, or to get service. The stores are reasonably attractive, but they’re always crowded and noisy. I have never purchased any Apple product because of some great experience I had at the store that made me realize I needed something I hadn’t already made up my mind to buy. Maybe the reason the stores sell so much is because they have great products that people want. Just what impact these new store designs will have on sales, if any, time will tell. The way I see it, the stores themselves are part of the Apple ecosystem. If they contribute in some way to the overall positive feelings the customer has about all things Apple the customer has, then they should be considered to be a success
Lazy commentary, MDN. The grove naming is most certainly rooted in the history of the valley. Think about the new HQ campus and the incorporation of trees…this isn’t some flippant concept. It’s very functional – instead of forcing customers to step up to a bar for support, which is a vestige from the days when all devices required a flat surface to be rested on, customers can rest and sit alongside the genius and work out their issue. Most products coming in for service are mobile so why not create an experience that caters to those customers? Very calming. Very smart.
Most of the world is not from California, thank God, and will never set foot in the land of fruits and nuts, much less give a rat’s ass about Apple potted trees or what they’re named. They just want to know why their new iPad Pro just got bricked by a frigging iOS update and WTF Apple’s self-appointed “geniuses” are going to do about it.
Fantastic. And hopefully the repair experience is amazing and the relationship is repaired.
Angela’s overpaid for what she does, and is out of her depth in this position.
Tim won’t get rid of her because he’s too emotionally attached to her being a ‘success’ at Apple. Her departure would reflect poorly on him, so everyone at Apple’s involved with propping her up.
She needs to take her $68m in stock and gtfo.
GlitIng up the stores won’t conceal the lack of compelling products inside them.
Tim can run his world on an iPad apparently.
I need a computer. Since 2002 that has always been a Mac.
My next computer will be a Windows tower.
Have you tried to use Windows 10?
Can’t speak for Sunbeam, but I can say with conviction, my desktop operating system preferences are:
1) OS X version 10.6.8 (Snow Leopard), and a few prior versions. Solid, powerful, and intuitive.
2) Windows 7 – solid, not so intuitive
3) Windows 10 with touchscreen crap disabled. bloated but surprisingly workable once you figure out how to make Metro go away forever.
4) Linux (depends on task) – poor for intuitive interface, but the best server OS, and clearly ahead of OS X on a lot of behind-the-scenes features
5) OS X from 10.7-10.9 – the massive bloat and iCloud push begins. Formerly good accessory software degraded or discarded.
6) Windows XP – works best when disconnected from internet awesome and easy for home tinkering & media stuff. Don’t trust it for networking.
7) OSX version 10.10+ Cook and Ive destroyed usability as we knew it — might as well just use the command line all the time, since tools are so hidden.
8) Chrome doesn’t deserve the time of day, except for the fact that it is fast and unbloated for the most part
9) iOS – next to useless for desktop computing, and becoming bloated & buggy
10) Android – would be great if it never had to connect to another computer. With Google services turned on, it is Satan incarnated.
YMMV. I find that a large majority of Mac evangelists are just as ignorant as the extremists from the Windows platform. If you live in a multi-platform environment, it is easy to see how Microsoft and Apple copy each other incessantly. Sadly, Apple is falling behind in many under-the-skin areas and the interface went to shit as soon as Ive was allowed to touch it. So as much as Windows is a 4-letter word in these parts, it’s stumbling forward is still progress compared to the massive regression that has happened to OS X since Snow Leopard.
Cook, the most hands-off CEO in the tech world, has let Apple drift off course chasing rainbows and short-term consumerism. The nuts and bolts under the skin are old and rusty!
Genius Orchard?
Arboreal Support Services.
ASS, for short.
Tim Cook should appoint somebody to strip away the insincerity and uber-hype from everything-Apple.
Apple has made minimalism beautiful AND functional, but they don’t apply this to their ads and names. Everything is incredible! Amazing! Magic! Now, they have given us the Genius Grove! And that wall at the Union Square store which displays iPads? The Avenue!
The new store will make a billion bucks over its lifespan, but it’s ugly.
I go into Apple Stores for three reasons, sometimes I get them all in one hit.
1: To graze new stuff. 2: To sort a problem. 3: To get some training.
If there are some potted trees, fine, so long as they are not plastic and don’t interfere with customer (ie. my) space.
I’ve written here before that I’ve visited the ‘new’ Apple Store here in Germantown, TN. Where the old store had depth and areas where the bright daylight didn’t reach, the new store is more wide and less deep so the daylight reaches – and it’s harsh as the all glass front is not tinted. The store was crowded – a good sign – but it makes actually shopping a lot more burdensome when there are people everywhere just playing. I had to laugh on my way to my car. This stupid store felt more like an estate! As I walked out – the door was 10 – 15 feet tall and it’s THICK glass – I got out the door behind another customer but the door was closing. Another customer was entering – or trying to – as I walked out and he reached to pull the door back open without really slowing down. He smacked into the door as it’s HUGE and HEAVY. He looked at me with a WTF look and I could only shake my head. It’s pretentious. It’s like going to someone’s house that is soooo perfect you don’t want to sit down because you’re afraid a bit of lint will fall onto the sofa. Sorry – I’m more a mud and grime type IT geek. I’ll visit the store on my iPad for the wires and crap I need. Until Apple gets their quality issues ironed out, I won’t be buying any new Apple hardware.
Exactly!
Apple needs to spend a hell of a lot more time on usability. Instead it seems the multimillionaires running the company are just playing games and partying with artists.
If Cook runs Apple using an iPad and an Apple Watch, then that explains why Apple is losing relevance in small business and enterprise computing (Apple itself relies on HP servers and outsources its iCloud to Amazon and Google).
The mojo is gone, and Apple can’t even operate itself on its own hardware and software. Why?
Went to Saddle Creek Germantown TN ( White Flight suburb of Memphis ) – one of the new Apple Stores – and color me unimpressed. You can buy any number of the same things you can buy at any AT&T, Verizon, Wal-Mart, Target, etc, but little in the way of accessories for a Mac or even iOS Home Kit.
You can buy a DJI Quadcopter or GoPro Camera- shit you can get 1,000 other places- but not one Thunderbolt Dock, not one USB 3 Hub, almost no Home Kit hardware. Just tables full of iPads, iPhones, and Mac laptops. Not sure what the point is if you are in the business of building a diverse ecosystem built around Apple products.
The trip to the store is 50 miles round trip and unlike before they fucked the store up with nothing but iPhones, you cannot buy much else but the same Apple HW you can get anywhere.
The girl from Ball State has a fashion marketing background and is out of her depth. Apple is wasting an opportunity and leaving money on the table by competing with it’s own sales channel on HW. They should be using the stores to grow the ecosystem that attracted customers to Apple stuff and will keep them Apple customers.
I go to the Apple store maybe twice a year even tho it is only a few miles away. I absolutely dread having to wade into this very crowded noisy place full of black shirted kids. I have to explain what I am looking for to the blank stare of a kid with a nose ring who has to call someone else who takes me back to the miniscule rack of accessories dominated by Beats headphones. As mentioned there are none of the things OWC would have, or that any decent Mac Reseller had before they were executed for making Apple successful. It’s like if I mention my more than 2 year old Mac (Mac-in-tosh, you know it’s a com-put-er) they look lost. I am however encouraged to buy headphones, upgrade my phone or buy a service agreement. 70 per cent of the time I leave empty handed and angry. I don’t think trees will change that experience.
Sorry to see the state of affairs where hubris and corporate pretentiousness seems to have infiltrated the whole culture while coherent product vision and execution suffer, but glad to note lots of us who’ve been Apple defenders and stalwarts through thick and thin aren’t still saying hosannah when most of the problems are coming from WITHIN Cupertino, i.e., as self-inflicted wounds.
So just wondering if anyone in the inner circles actually reads or at least assigns someone to read what’s bubbling up on the forums, especially now that it’s a rising chorus they ignore at their own peril…??
Clearly the name should be genius orchard!