Apple Orchard Road in Singapore Officially Opens to the Public

[LordVic]

Yes very much so.

Several hours later, you 'pass' the $4 coffee (if Starbucks offering could be remotely considered as coffee). The $1700 MacBook is good for many years of work, profit, entertainment.

I think the implication here is that Apple wants you to come to their stores daily. hang out. chat with people, be social in their store. They want the Store to be like Starbucks.

the comment you are referring to pokes at a potential hole in this goal. People gather at starbucks because it's part of social eating. it's the product of coffee and snacks that helped define Starbucks as the "meeting spot", since a large population equates eating with social.

So customers of starbucks can come back everyday for their $4 latte, and be sociable. People do not go back to the Apple Store daily to buy $1600 laptops or $900 phones. These are items people only do a few times every few years.

 

[grad]

There were lots of people, lots of employees, yet few were buying something. I don't even know what these stores are for. The sad thing is that Apple products are not only overpriced, there is virtually 0 chance of getting a (meaningful) discount anywhere. It would make sense for people/tourists that can't buy directly online Apple products in their countries because there is no offline/online AppleStore there (and the corresponding retailers just suck) and/or want to take advantage of tax refund. And guess what, Apple doesn't build or sell the products these people want. Watch bands, smartphone covers, i5 laptops, 32GB iPad Pros, Beats headphones ? No thanks.

 

[rjlawrencejr]

So it's totally okay if I hang out at my local Apple Store, plop myself in front of a Mac and do my homework for a couple hours? I would love to be able to do that, but would feel super awkward doing so.

People have been doing that for years. A few years ago my MacBook (white) was stolen and the hard drive of my iBook had failed. The Great Recession meant no extra money for repairs/replacement. All I had was an iPhone 3G and the Apple Store. I would create documents on my phone with Office^2 and then load them to my cloud account. If I needed to make updates I would often go to the Apple Store and use the Macs to finish up my work.

 

[avanpelt]

Those wooden "seats" look really inviting.

 

[SeaFox]

[doublepost=1495861526][/doublepost]We are still waiting for a Apple store in New Zealand

Was it really necessary to quote the entire article to leave a one sentence reply?

I agree with the earlier reply about comparing a Starbucks to an Apple store. Coffee shops are made to be places to lounge and loiter for long periods of time. The overpriced coffee isn't just about the drink, it's to pay for your time in the space, like a manga cafe. Retail stores are entirely the opposite. They generally look upon people hanging around not buying stuff as suspicious, because they're more likely to be thieves. A coffee shop hardly has to worry about this when so much of their merchandise is behind the counter to start with. I don't see Apple's stores suddenly Being Different in that regard. More likely scenario is it becomes like a visit to Best Buy, with staff coming around frequently asking "if there is anything they can help you with", when you really just want them to leave you alone.

 

[SeattleMoose]

First in SE Asia? I thought they were already there being that it is such a great target market. What took so long?

 

[brentsg]

There were lots of people, lots of employees, yet few were buying something. I don't even know what these stores are for.

So why are you here? If you don't like Apple products then it would seem to make sense hanging out someplace that does cover stuff you prefer.

In terms of Apple stores in the USA, they outpace any other retailer in terms of sales per square foot.. so apparently people are buying stuff. I don't know how it is in other countries.

This is actually a rhetorical post. I can see from your posting history that everything you type is negative bitching and moaning.

 

[44267547]

There were lots of people, lots of employees, yet few were buying something. I don't even know what these stores are for. The sad thing is that Apple products are not only overpriced, there is virtually 0 chance of getting a (meaningful) discount anywhere. It would make sense for people/tourists that can't buy directly online Apple products in their countries because there is no offline/online AppleStore there (and the corresponding retailers just suck) and/or want to take advantage of tax refund. And guess what, Apple doesn't build or sell the products these people want. Watch bands, smartphone covers, i5 laptops, 32GB iPad Pros, Beats headphones ? No thanks.

Basically you posted not taking in account anything this article referenced at all, instead you decided to use this article as leverage to post your disdain and distasteful comments, which takes away Singapore from
achieving its first Apple Store. You didn't prove anything.

 

[Blackstick]

There's quite a difference between meeting someone at Starbucks and spending $4 on a latte versus meeting at the Apple Store and dropping $1700 on a MacBook Pro, Angela.

Well, to be fair, she's worth over $100 million, so a $1700 Mac to her is like a $4 coffee, to us.

 

[MH01]

Yes very much so.

Several hours later, you 'pass' the $4 coffee (if Starbucks offering could be remotely considered as coffee). The $1700 MacBook is good for many years of work, profit, entertainment.

You are correct. Though having a coffee / chatting is a social reason for people to ....socialise. I've never seen people gather with $1700 laptops to socialise....unless it's a gaming Lan or Starbucks ....

And just to correct the above, those $1700 at LANs are not apple

 

[grad]

So why are you here? If you don't like Apple products then it would seem to make sense hanging out someplace that does cover stuff you prefer.

In terms of Apple stores in the USA, they outpace any other retailer in terms of sales per square foot.. so apparently people are buying stuff. I don't know how it is in other countries.

This is actually a rhetorical post. I can see from your posting history that everything you type is negative bitching and moaning.

Did it cross your mind that I might used to like Apple products in the past and this forum covers them as well ?

I will answer your rhetorical question with a question. Are you here to defend anything Apple does for some reason or you just have AAPL stocks ?
[doublepost=1495909678][/doublepost]

Basically you posted not taking in account anything this article referenced at all, instead you decided to use this article as leverage to post your disdain and distasteful comments, which takes away Singapore from
achieving its first Apple Store. You didn't prove anything.

The article covers Singapore and Applestores as did my answer - I was right there in the store.

 

[diipii]

Where are all the crowds flocking to get their dose of "Apple love" ?

 

[NY Guitarist]

Ultimately, Ahrendts hopes that the next generation refers to Apple as a meeting spot similar to the communal nature of a place like Starbucks. "Starbucks figured it out, you know? Being a gathering place for - right? 'Meet me at Starbucks,'"

If Apple starts to become like Starbucks I'm out. I just don't Apple as the place for casual hanging out or anything else a typical coffee shop is suited better for.

Unless Apple creates a lounge area... I just don't see it.

 

[tkermit]

Her quote reminds me of Ryan on The Office talking about Dunder Mifflin Infinity as a social platform.

I enjoyed it when she claimed she viewed Apple Store staff (who apparently 'feel connected' and 'feel like one Apple') as 'executives' who are 'touching the customers' and are delivering the product to them 'in a wonderful way'.

 

[Bacillus]

She's certainly the best looking VP in the Valley. A bit of a babe, is Angela, on top of all her success and achievements.

I highly favor anybody's right to choose his or her idol.
But this glorification takes the risk of degrading her into a kind of Cover Page Chick - that better keep her mouth shut and be served off with some cash, occasionally.
Which notion I'd neither deny nor oppose, however.

 

[righteye]

I find this quite creepy actually. Gathering somewhere for refreshment and a chat/meeting is one thing hanging out for Mac lust is quite another.

 

[Michael Scrip]

Why is Apple opening new stores?

Don't they know they're doomed?

But seriously... it's funny how big long-standing stores like Macy's keeps closing locations... and Apple keep opening them.

 

[Tjosansa]

She is to gready and to old. I dont think i like her.

 

[boodle]

The problem with this analogy is that no one at Starbucks actually wants to be there.

 

[BruceEBonus]

Going by that blokes shoes - style has taken a back seat for the event!

 

[Seoras]

I highly favor anybody's right to choose his or her idol.
But this glorification takes the risk of degrading her into a kind of Cover Page Chick - that better keep her mouth shut and be served off with some cash, occasionally.
Which notion I'd neither deny nor oppose, however.

I've been waiting, patiently, for this response. I knew there would be at least one.
"degrading". WTF?
There was a time when you could compliment a woman, or anyone, on their appearance or looks and it was taken with kindness which was all it was ever meant to be. A compliment.
We now live in a time when anything uttered is non-PC, sexist, demeaning etc etc.
A time when all positives must be twisted into negatives. When the chronically insecure rule the earth and airwaves.
Sad times....

EDIT:

Speaking of nice and clean...
Whose the dental hygienist in the middle?

The post with the most likes is the guy who likens her to a dental hygienist?
Fun and ridicule is just fine.
Damn you if you dare give the woman a compliment....

 

[pika2000]

I'm not sure why people are complaining about the store. If you guys want the "traditional" shopping experience, you can just go to BestDenki or Challenger or Courts.
The store has to be consistent with how the company want the brand to be perceived. And Singaporeans have no problem affording them. Singapore has been ranked to be the most expensive city, higher than Tokyo and any cities in the US.

 

[Abazigal]

First in SE Asia? I thought they were already there being that it is such a great target market. What took so long?

Are you confusing China with SEA?

 

[philryan]

There were lots of people, lots of employees, yet few were buying something. I don't even know what these stores are for.

Ummm, sorry, but Apple stores are the single most profitable retail outlets of any kind on the planet, including jewellery stores, clothing stores, even car dealerships. More revenue per square metre of retail, more revenue per employee. I would agree with others in these comments that this isn't all Angela Ahrendt's doing by any means, but they are still doing fine and there are still plenty of place in the world that are crying out for more Apple stores.

 

[Denmac1]

I remember buying my iPod when they first came out at the Palo Alto store. The vibe within the store was amazing. Stores during the Ron Johnson era always were fresh and full of new and innovative products, nowadays, not so much.
Apple as a gathering place? Come on, Angela, where did you even come up with that concept?
Unfortunately, IMHO, that most of us here on MR, know what we want and will obtain the product through the best or reasonable channels that we can find and have no reason to set foot in an Apple 'store'.
Apple has gone to mass appeal hoping that the brand will sell product, which it has, and with the majority of the stores in malls, deal with the everyday people that just buy because of the name and not necessarily the quality of the product ( which we know in our own realm) has slipped greatly.
Cook & Co has not risen up to what Apple was and should be, just riding on the coattails of yesterday.
OK. I'm done now.....