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Angela Ahrendts Talks Apple Retail in New Interview: 'Retail is Not Dying, But it Has to Evolve'
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That is because the sales person is trying to make their required sales numbers or risk being fired. Its their job to sell products in order to get money to put food on the table and pay rent/mortgage.
You mean the 150 out of about 14,000? Let's not lie and pretend this is like Sears. These locations are likely out in an area where no one is buying, or way too close to other locations.
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Always been a joke? They are the most valuable retail space on the planet, and most profitable, so I would say whatever business plan you have in mind for them is the real joke. Also, if you don't know what she's done so far, you made an effort not to pay attention, since they have been openly discussing the changes in their public keynotes for the last year and a half. The changes were also reported on this very site and discussed at length.
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While true, it's their approach that sucks. They aren't being consultative, and therefore are bringing very little value. When I went into a Best Buy last week and the week before, both times I got very weak service aside from "can I help you find something?" However, whatever was happening in their various associates' conversations and on their cell phones appeared to be mighty riveting to them. All that drove me there in both cases was a sale price on two items for Father's Day, but I got absolutely nothing of value from the experience that I couldn't get from Amazon.
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She is drinking too much Apple cool-aid. I live in the Lehigh Valley, and we have ONE apple store. Now I dont pretend that my little world represents any other part of the country, but I can speak at least to this local situation. Not only do I not want to go to our ONE Apple store, I dont even want to go near that mall. The Apple store is a S*** SHOW. It is always PACKED, full of people annoyed that they dropped their phone and apple wont replace it for freee, full of people who just want to look at stuff they wont even buy (like a lot of retail) and full of what’s left of the 18 year old mall crowd. To imply that the shift is being made from “store” to “community gathering place” is like saying my local Macy’s is transitioning from a clothing store to a “floating Amazon warehouse in space”. It just isn’t remotely true.
They are currently renovation to put in a bigger store in the same section of the mall where the old one is, but I do not believe for a second that ONE Apple store in an area with this many people will ever be relaxing enough to become a community gathering space. I have been in the new concept stores and the only way to make me want to “gather” at an Apple store is if there is a section that is completely separate from the Genius Bar and Sales Floor, which I just dont see happening.
I hope Angela figures out what she is talking about, but the fact that she believes she has created a “gathering place” at least in this area is absolutely a reality distortion field....
They are currently renovation to put in a bigger store in the same section of the mall where the old one is, but I do not believe for a second that ONE Apple store in an area with this many people will ever be relaxing enough to become a community gathering space. I have been in the new concept stores and the only way to make me want to “gather” at an Apple store is if there is a section that is completely separate from the Genius Bar and Sales Floor, which I just dont see happening.
I hope Angela figures out what she is talking about, but the fact that she believes she has created a “gathering place” at least in this area is absolutely a reality distortion field....
Apple store Vienna is a joke.
„Sorry. We don‘t accept Apple Pay.“
WTF
One can pay everywhere in Austria at NFC-enabled POS.
But NO, can‘t do that at the Apple Store in downtown Vienna.
Get your act together and don‘t hire droid-fanboys as enployees.
„Sorry. We don‘t accept Apple Pay.“
WTF
One can pay everywhere in Austria at NFC-enabled POS.
But NO, can‘t do that at the Apple Store in downtown Vienna.
Get your act together and don‘t hire droid-fanboys as enployees.
Wow some of you guys really just don’t know what you’re talking about.
Do you realize how successful Apple stores are and how profitable they are? Apple is not like other companies. They make money hand over fist everyday.
Retail is EXTREMELY important for Apple and it is working VERY well.
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Apple Stores are already gathering places for people to charge their devices and just chat. Obviously not every single store can have the community feel like the flagships.
Who cares if Angela calls them “town squares”. As long as they still sell things they are still STORES. Regardless of what she says.
And the bigger stores do second as gathering places because of all the seating and free WiFi.
Do you realize how successful Apple stores are and how profitable they are? Apple is not like other companies. They make money hand over fist everyday.
Retail is EXTREMELY important for Apple and it is working VERY well.
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Apple Stores are already gathering places for people to charge their devices and just chat. Obviously not every single store can have the community feel like the flagships.
Who cares if Angela calls them “town squares”. As long as they still sell things they are still STORES. Regardless of what she says.
And the bigger stores do second as gathering places because of all the seating and free WiFi.
I do find the comments suggestion that Apple retail is a total failure amusing. Apple has the highest revenue per square foot in retail, globally. If you consider this failure, how do you measure success?
https://9to5mac.com/2017/07/29/apple-top-retailer-per-square-foot/
https://9to5mac.com/2017/07/29/apple-top-retailer-per-square-foot/
I made above minimum wage when I started at the Apple Store, and well above min wage after my first pay rise. What do you consider livable?
"They are not hired to sell," is the biggest joke I've heard. What kind of company hires sales staff to just stand around not selling anything. Who are they kidding. Just because they don't have quotas, commissions, or act all push doesn't mean they're not hired to sell you stuff.
Wouldn’t have to worry about your stores... if you had product to sell........
COUGHMACCOUGHMINIHACKPROCOFFCOFFDECENTSOFTWAREUPDATESCOUGHHACKYEARLYUPDATESWHEEEEEEZE
... excuse me. Allergy season hits hard.
COUGHMACCOUGHMINIHACKPROCOFFCOFFDECENTSOFTWAREUPDATESCOUGHHACKYEARLYUPDATESWHEEEEEEZE
... excuse me. Allergy season hits hard.
Take it easy buddy. I was referring to this:
"A lot of the big online guys have said they’re opening stores. Amazon’s investing in stores. Google’s investing in stores. ... Starbucks figured it out, you know? Being a gathering place for – right? ‘Meet me at Starbucks,”’ Ahrendts said. “And you know, I’ve told the teams, ‘I’ll know we’ve done a really, really great job if the next generation, if Gen Z says, “Meet me at Apple. Did you see what’s going on at Apple today?”"
source: https://www.cbsnews.com/news/angela-ahrendts-apple-svp-of-retail-redesign-today-at-apple/
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The stores are only successful because of the highly successful products they sell; nothing to do with layout or location of the stores themselves. Remove the apple products and sell toasters and blenders and the stores would be dead. Microsoft stores are nearly identical and don't do nearly as well because of the products they sell.
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In most places I'd probably say $50k/yr; in the bay area at least $80k/yr.
So basically this generation has become lazier because it's to much of a hazzle to get out the house. Gotcha
This is true.
Also, you live near an Apple Store. Many people do not, so it would be much more convenient to hang out at the 100 or so coffee shops on the way to the Apple Store, than to make that drive, then walk through the mall.
I agree with her about having to evolve and adapt to the changing markets, but trying to get the Apple Store to be a meeting place like Starbucks is just silly.
Obviously, this is meant more for people that live locally to an Apple Store, but why meet at an Apple Store to hang out when there is much more convenient places to meet.
For me, I live a in between two Apple Stores. One of them is about 45 minutes away and has $16 in tolls for a round trip, or I could go to a closer Apple Store that is 25 minutes away with no tolls, but it is in an area that crime has increased a lot over the last five years.
Take a drive, meets some friend, hang out at the Apple Store, leave, and get mugged on my way to my car.
No thanks, there are literally 9 Starbucks to meet up at within a 5 mile radius from my home.
It quite simple actually. Just sell some products in store only. Or, get them in store first and you will have to wait to order online. That will bring people to the store.
And that will be the solution for every other retailer with brick and mortar locations. That and in store only specials.
And that will be the solution for every other retailer with brick and mortar locations. That and in store only specials.
Are you kidding? She could be the next CEO. Not that I'm saying she should be, but I imagine she *could* be.
We have 3 Apple stores near us and 2 of them have such bad layouts, I never go in unless I absolutely need to. All the tables are up front, usually fairly empty of foot traffic, and in the back is where the accessories are... along with the mass of agitated people waiting for they appointments. Nothing like browsing for accessories as 20 people look at you shopping while they impatiently wait their turn in line, desperate for anything to do.
And Apple wants me to voluntarily go there to just hang out?? LOL!! No much chance of that happening.
And Apple wants me to voluntarily go there to just hang out?? LOL!! No much chance of that happening.
LOL. "Retail is not dying".
Spoken like a Senior Vice President of Retail.
Other things that are are definitely not dying, but just "need to evolve:"
print media
internal combustion vehicles
milk home delivery
buggy whip factories
Spoken like a Senior Vice President of Retail.
Other things that are are definitely not dying, but just "need to evolve:"
print media
internal combustion vehicles
milk home delivery
buggy whip factories
Yes, a joke, drink all the CoolAid you like as it is tasty. I love my X and watch, my fam all have Pads and Macs. Apple makes money hand over fist simply because they have the products that we like, currently.
You do appreciate the sheer hubris of this almost trillion dollar company making Apple shrines all over the world? I buy the products when I need them, I don't need a glass and gold plated "Scotch Boutique" with precious little else to offer to get them.
Who honestly believes that these stores are their reason for success? seriously?
Apple stores will be gone if no new computers show up in them within a year.
[doublepost=1529518117][/doublepost]I don’t feel that her image, rhetoric, or even clothes click with old-time Apple fans.
Just a vague feeling of mine. It seems that many Apple executives have evolved into common Foutune 500 types of managers, who care ten times more about their own bonuses than products and customers, even though they in public always talk about the products and customers.
[doublepost=1529518117][/doublepost]I don’t feel that her image, rhetoric, or even clothes click with old-time Apple fans.
Just a vague feeling of mine. It seems that many Apple executives have evolved into common Foutune 500 types of managers, who care ten times more about their own bonuses than products and customers, even though they in public always talk about the products and customers.
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The key to understanding the changes that she is talking about is to understand the changes in who Apple is a company and what it's now selling. Apple stores were created in a time when Apple was a computer company. Selling Macs. Now as a phone company, those stores are not nearly as valuable unless you've dropped your iPhone. So trying to get people to go there like they used to is not easy. The new stores with the community designs might help, as might the type of locations that those stores are in. An excellent example is in Alpharetta GA. They moved the old standard store,at the mall, a few blocks away to a open air shopping environment,and built a community friendly location . These things help, but I bet that the Web and it's easy convenience will win. Wal-Mart taught us to be cheep. Amazon is teaching us to be lazy.
